


Come Back To Me

by Fyrechild



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime), Sailor Moon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, F/M, Romance, Sailor Moon R
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-02-15 00:51:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2209437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fyrechild/pseuds/Fyrechild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set directly after the Metallia battle at the end of Season 1, into the first R arc.  What if Mamoru didn't forget what happened, but Usagi and the Senshi all did?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction in, oh, I don't even know how many years. In any case, I recently rediscovered my early teenage love for Sailor Moon and re-watched all of it, discovering that yes, Usagi/Mamoru really is my original OTP. This is mostly going to be from Mamoru's point of view with occasional jumps into other people. Unbeta'd, hopefully I'll manage to catch most of my mistakes before they get out. Feedback appreciated!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fanfiction in, oh, I don't even know how many years. In any case, I recently rediscovered my early teenage love for Sailor Moon and re-watched all of it, discovering that yes, Usagi/Mamoru really is my original OTP. This is mostly going to be from Mamoru's point of view with occasional jumps into other people. Unbeta'd, hopefully I'll manage to catch most of my mistakes before they get out. Feedback appreciated!
> 
> EDIT 9/10/14 - So the first few chapters were really short, but they're getting longer, so I combined the first two. Whee learning!

 

The last thing he remembers is her face.

 Her enormous, sky-blue eyes look hollowed with despair; tears pour down her cheeks as she sobs his name.  "Hurry," he chokes out through the pain. "Leave this place.  Go back to being an ordinary girl... and find a cool boyfriend or something." He weakly tries to grin as the agony seizes him in fanged jaws and drags him down.  She cries as she says something in reply; he can't hear her over the roaring in his ears, but he keeps his eyes trained on her face as the tunnel vision closes in and it's dark and he's so tired and he just can't keep them open anymore but he still doesn't want to leave and why does he have to leave and please please please let her make it it'll all be worth it if...

  _darkness_

  **LIGHT**

 

 ***

 

 He jackknifed into a sitting position with a scream of "USAKO!"... in his own bed.

 Mamoru wiped his sweat-soaked face with a shaking hand, wondering... could it possibly have been a dream?  All of it?  He looked over at his clock; 2 am.  He remembered, so vividly, seeing himself do all those horrible thing- to Usako, to all the girls, all those innocent people, nothing more than a passenger in his own body, unable to do anything but scream into the silence of his own mind...

 He shuddered violently, heart pounding in his chest.  "Well," he said to himself as he pushed his hair back from his face, the sweat stiffening it into spikes, "Whatever did happen, I'm home now.  I can figure it out in the morning."  Exhaustion hit him like a freight train, and he slumped back into his pillows with a sigh, the full, silvery moon shining through his window like an old friend.

 

 ***

 

 Wandering through his apartment the next morning ( _like a ghost, or a crazy person_ , his traitorous brain whispered) he realized that whatever he remembered, he was definitely missing time somewhere.  His answering machine was full of messages and looked like it hadn't been checked in at least a month, if not more.  The refrigerator... was best not thought of right away.  He thought about all the classes he must have missed and groaned to himself.  A semester's worth of work, down the tubes... And now he was probably too late to sign up for anything for the next semester, so he was really screwed out of a full year of classes.   _Dammit_.

 After showering and straightening up his apartment until it approximated its usual neat state, he decided to see if Motoki was around.  Hopefully his oldest friend could fill him in on some of the events of the last few months.  When he walked into the arcade, it was just after noon; the arcade was nearly empty, and  Motoki was cleaning glasses, looking bored.  He looked up automatically when the doors opened, and his eyes widened as he recognized the dark-haired, tired-looking man in front of him.

 "Mamoru-kun? It is you!" Motoki exclaimed excitedly. "Where have you been, man? It's been weeks!"

 Mamoru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I know, I know... it’s kind of a long story,” he said with a halfhearted grin.  

 “Well then sit down and tell me!” Motoki said, pointing to his usual stool.  “Need any food before we get started?”

 Since it was lunchtime, Motoki ordered a pair of hamburgers from the Crown diner upstairs.  Once the important details of food had been sorted, he pulled over the stool behind the counter so he could sit across from Mamoru.  “All right, now spill,” he ordered, uncharacteristically serious.

Mamoru looked at his hands, trying to gather his thoughts, running through this and that scenario in his mind.   _What would make sense to Motoki-kun, explain why I was gone, but not give away anyone’s secrets?_ he thought to himself.  

As if reading his mind, Motoki lowered his voice and asked, “Does this have anything to do with… um… those weird monster things that kept showing up?  Or you in a tuxedo?”

Mamoru looked into his friend’s eyes in shock.  “What… why would you think something like that?” He feebly tried to laugh it off, but Motoki just looked at him with his mouth set in a grim line.

“Honestly Mamoru-kun, I can understand trying to keep it a secret, but to someone who really knows you…” He smiled a bit sadly, then continued, still speaking quietly in case anyone else happened to walk in.  “The times you’d run off with hardly a word, the missed classes- even before you dropped out of sight- the random injuries…” He grinned, then said with a sparkle in his eyes, “Your unholy fascination with formalwear maybe?”

Mamoru stared at him, mind completely blank for a moment, then laughed- at what he wasn’t sure.  Himself maybe?  He continued chuckling, then giggling near-hysterically, as Motoki laughed with him.  Once both had somehow settled themselves, Mamoru wiped his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Well,” he said, looking at his oldest, dearest friend in the world, “it started with a dream…”

***

“And then… The last thing I can remember is- well, dying I guess.”  Mamoru stared at the counter, images flashing behind his eyes.   _blue eyes tears pain love oh god don’t leave please come back I can’t pain darkness..._ “I woke up in the middle of the night in my own bed.”

Motoki was silent for long enough that Mamoru started to get nervous.  He looked up to see Motoki staring at him with a mixture of shock and… awe?  “What?” he asked nervously.

Motoki jumped as if startled, then shook himself.  “Just… wow, man.  Past lives and monsters and girls and… Just wow.  Hey, do you know who the Senshi are?  In real life I mean?”

Mamoru cleared his throat uncertainly.  “It’s not really my secret to tell…” he started.  At the front of the arcade, the doors slid open and he caught a glimpse of blue and white uniform and blonde hair out of the corner of his eye.  Without conscious thought, he pivoted on the stool to see, strolling towards him, completely unconcerned and not paying attention at all-

 _Usako_ …

She chattered at Motoki for a moment- Mamoru couldn’t hear the topic over the ringing in his ears.   _She’s here, she’s all right, she made it_!  He smiled at her, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

“Baka-san, what are you grinning at? You look like complete doofus!”  She stuck her tongue out at him and continued her high-speed babble, interrupted periodically by sucking down an enormous chocolate milkshake.  She didn’t seem to notice that he was completely frozen in place.  How could she not notice? Why would she act as if nothing had changed?  Everything had-

Mamoru’s heart froze in his chest as he realized- nothing had changed.

Not for her.

She didn’t remember anything.

Mamoru cleared his throat, trying to readjust himself and look like a person again (and not a robot).  “So, Usak- um. Usagi-chan!  How’s life been the last couple months?  Anything interesting happen around here?”

She glanced at him skeptically out of the corner of her eye.  “What, no Odango Atama?  Feeling alright, Baka-san?”  She turned toward the door as her red-haired friend came in, then waved a cheerful goodbye at Motoki before running off to the Sailor V game.  Mamoru watched her go with an ache in his chest, not noticing time passing until Motoki suddenly appeared next to him, leaning on the counter and following Mamoru’s gaze with his eyes.  Mamoru jumped and turned back towards his friend, hoping he hadn’t looked like too much of a lovesick fool.

Apparently that was too much to ask for.

Motoki looked from him to the blonde pigtails hanging over the back of the game console across the arcade, then back at him.  He studied Mamoru’s slightly flushed face for a moment, clearly putting pieces together in his mind.  The lightbulb that went off was so obvious Mamoru was almost surprised Usagi didn’t notice it from across the room.  “Usagi-chan... and the girls?” Motoki half whispered, his eyes seeming to take up half his face in shock.  Mamoru closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in resignation, then sighed and forced himself to look somewhere- _anywhere_ \- other than at his erstwhile friend or his oblivious, frustrating, beautiful girl.  

His eyes lit on a familiar-looking red bow farther back into the arcade- at a driving game, naturally. _I wonder,_ he thought to himself.  He jumped off the stool, muttering “Be right back” at Motoki, and headed towards-

He was right!  Minako sat at the racing game, her usual excitement and energy making him smile a bit despite himself.  Just as he approached the machine, she zoomed over the finish line, shouting in glee.  “YES!  Once again, Aino Minako is VICTORIOUS!!”  Mamoru thought with a smile that anyone passing by would be able to hear all-caps and multiple exclamation points in this statement.  

“Care for some competition?” he asked cheerfully, hoping- _praying_ \- that recognition would flash through those big blue eyes-

Nope.

“Wish I could!” she rather breathlessly said with a pink tinge to her cheeks.  “But if I don’t get home my mom is going to kill me- ACK!” she said with a screech as she looked at her watch.  Without another word- a coherent one anyway, wails and flailing did not count- she grabbed her bag and dashed from the arcade.  As her exit yell was cut off by the closing doors, Mamoru sighed in disappointment.  Clearly she remembered nothing either, and if Venus didn’t, it was a sure bet that no one else did.  

Mamoru slowly walked back to the counter where Motoki waited for him, sympathy in his brown eyes.  “Minako-chan remember anything?  Usagi certainly didn’t, that girl can’t feel an emotion without the entire world knowing about it.”

Mamoru smiled mirthlessly.  “Not a hint of recognition.  She wouldn’t have looked at me like that if she remembered anything about Usagi.”  He sighed in frustration, running his hand through his hair.  “I don’t know Motoki-kun.  Maybe… Maybe I should just let her go.  She’d probably be better off in the long run,” he mused sadly.  

Motoki’s jaw dropped in shock.  “W-what?  How… why would you think that?” he stuttered.

Mamoru’s hands clenched into fists before he consciously forced them to relax; he dropped his gaze to the countertop as he reclaimed his stool.  His shoulders ached with tension, his normally effortless cool demeanor seriously ruffled.  “She’s a special girl,” he said softly.  “She should be able to be normal, without some weird past-life bullshit getting in the way.”  He pushed himself off the stool again, overriding Motoki’s stumbling attempts at reasoning with him.  “I need a walk.  See you later, man.”

As he walked out of the arcade, two cats watched him go with an unnerving intelligence on their furry little faces.  One looked at the other, and as Mamoru turned the corner he did not see the small white shape following in his footsteps.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Mamoru stood on his balcony and stared out at the cityscape before him, letting the twinkle and shine of far-off lights numb his mind into emptiness.  Nothing to think about, no one to worry about, just… being.  This worked for about 5 minutes, until the quiet of the peaceful night was shattered by a scream from the street below.  Grabbing onto the edge of the roof above for balance, he jumped onto the railing and leaned outward to try and see where the screams were coming from. His stomach clenched as he spotted a blonde head in the alley next to his building, along with... some kind of plant monster?

"Well, so much for peace," he muttered to himself, focusing on the rose that he had just pulled from the ether. The rose flickered with a rainbow light that washed over him, leaving the familiar tuxedo, cape, mask, and hat. He leaped to the balcony railing and hopped from there to lower balconies, heading towards the side where the thing now wrapped vines around the girl's neck and began to glow. He threw a sharp-tipped rose at the monster, making it release its hold on the blonde- not Usako, thank whatever gods were listening- who promptly threw herself into a surprisingly graceful backwards somersault, revealing angry blue eyes and a familiar red bow.

"Thanks," Minako bit out through gritted teeth. "Now what the hell is this thing and how do we kill it?" She blinked, taken aback at her own words. "Where did that come from?"

Tuxedo Mask wanted desperately to pursue that line of reasoning with her, but vine whips flying at his face persuaded him to wait for a more opportune (less potentially deadly) time. Dodging more swipes from the snarling plant-thing, he launched a series of roses at it, not doing much more than angering it with each strike. _How the hell am I going to defeat this thing?_ he wondered frantically. _Scratching it won't get me anywhere!_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a white blur leaping towards the still-confused Minako and turned to see a cat staring at her. No, wait- was that a beam of light connecting the two? As he dodged more attacks and threw a few more of his own, the girl seemed frozen, then gasped and fell to her knees in front of the cat, murmuring something the masked man couldn't hear. She picked up something from the ground, then stood with a look of determination and yelled the most beautiful words he'd heard in days.

"Venus star power, make up!"

The tide of battle turned rapidly after that, but just before the monster was pierced by a Crescent Beam, a tendril slipped through Venus's guard and sliced her across the cheek. Once the thing had dissolved into what looked like a tarot card, Venus winced and brought a hand to her cheek, trying to wipe away the blood now pouring from the deep slash. "Oh man," the blonde bemoaned, "how am I going to hide this one?" She looked up at Tuxedo Mask ruefully as he walked over to her, adding, "We heal fast, but I always managed to keep injuries that take a few days to places I could cover up before this.  A cut this deep will take a _least_ a day, if not two."

Tuxedo Mask grimaced in sympathy as he examined the wound carefully, then jerked in surprise as he felt a warmth coming from his palm. A golden glow followed before he could move, and he watched in amazement as the deep cut closed before his eyes, leaving only a faint pink line behind. He staggered back a step as exhaustion hit him suddenly. A white shimmer came over him as he let his transformation drop abruptly.

"M-Mamoru-san!" Minako stuttered, wide-eyed. Mamoru rubbed his eyes and looked again. Yes, definitely healed. _Well then. That's new._

"Want to come upstairs?" he asked wearily. "I think we have a lot to talk about."  She stared at him a moment, then nodded once and followed, a golden glow lighting up the alley briefly before the side door closed behind them.

 

***

 

It was strange, having her in his apartment, his personal territory. He kept having flashes of old, old memory pop up- her scolding Princess Serenity over another escape, her pacing through the gardens just out of earshot as he and the Princess talked... Bits and pieces of a life he'd forgotten even more than his childhood.

Mamoru busied himself making tea; Minako declined his offer with a brief head shake and a quiet "No thanks." She paced his living room clearly deep in thought, while the cat watched her with mixed pride, resignation, and a bit of sadness. _Odd that I can see that in a cat_ , Mamoru thought, slightly amused. Mug in hand, he sat on the futon and gestured for Minako to take the couch across from him.  She stopped pacing and stared at him for a moment, until the cat murmured “Mina…” warningly.   _I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that_ , Mamoru thought as Minako heaved a heavy sigh and flopped onto the sofa.  

“So,” the blonde said abruptly as she leaned back and spread her arms out on the sofa back. _She’s like a cat, taking up as much space as physically possible_ , he thought with an internal grin. “What are your plans, Mamoru?  Going to wake anyone else up?”  She sounded almost accusing as she asked this, cornflower blue eyes flashing at him.  He looked at her measuringly for a moment; she flushed and looked away from his gaze.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” he said quietly.  “Then again, I wasn’t planning on waking you up either.  Though I suppose that wasn’t actually my doing anyway,” he continued, glancing at the cat, who shrugged, the human gesture looking distinctly odd on him.

“Not like I really had a choice either,” the cat said sadly as he jumped onto the arm of the sofa.  “I would have preferred Minako-chan to have something at least resembling a normal life, but apparently that’s not in the cards.”

Minako’s expression softened as she looked at the cat next to her.  She finally smiled at him as she reached up and scratched gently behind his ears.  “Artemis, it’s sweet of you to think that, but do you really think I’d have a _normal_ life?  Me, of all people?”  She giggled as the cat ( _Artemis, right, of course,_ thought Mamoru) grumbled a bit, then admitted she might have a point.  Minako’s gaze returned to Mamoru’s as she asked, “What about Usagi?”  Her expression hardened just slightly, and Mamoru could read the protectiveness in her eyes quite clearly.  It was obvious that the Senshi part of her personality had stepped to the forefront.  

“Not unless there’s something we can’t fight without her,” Mamoru said firmly, with a twinge in his heart.  “I’m not going to lie and say I don’t miss her like crazy, but if she can have a little more time to just be a regular girl, I’d like to be able to give that to her.”  

Minako tilted her head to the side as if she’d heard something odd.  “Something _we_ can’t fight?  Since when-”

“Since now,” Mamoru interrupted her, eyes hardening.  “You have to admit it- you would’ve had more of a fight if that thing hadn’t already been distracted, and I certainly couldn’t do the damage that you can.”  He took a breath as she nodded, frowning in thought.  “There’s also- that weird healing thing that happened… could be useful if I can get it to happen regularly.”  

“Actually, I might be able to help with that,” Artemis said in a more cheerful tone.  “That healing thing you did is called psychometry- it was one of your talents back in the Silver Millenium, so it’s not really that surprising that it’s starting to manifest now.”  Mamoru blinked in surprise as the feline continued.  “You might also start to notice a connection with the earth, or being able to tell something about a person or an object if you touch them.”

“Huh,” said Minako, rather inelegantly.  She rose and looked at Mamoru with an appraising light in her eye as he reflexively stood as well.  “Well, sounds like you could be useful after a battle at the very least, and you’re always a good distraction.” She nodded in a decisive way as Mamoru’s lips quirked in an involuntary grin.  “All right then, partners!”  She smiled and held out a hand.

“Minako-chan, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Mamoru quoted as he shook her hand.  The blonde just looked puzzled as he grinned at her and shook his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll probably notice I took some elements from the manga and some from the anime here. I like different things about each version, so I figured I'd pick and choose.


	3. Chapter 3

Mamoru looked at the sky with resignation as his headlights cut through the gloom. What had been a perfectly pleasant afternoon had turned cold and foul when a strong, sudden thunderstorm had formed overhead. Sheets of water poured from the skies, the leaden gray hue only illuminated by frequent lightning bolts. As one particularly loud crash rumbled his car windows, Usagi crossed his mind again, as she had been doing frequently in the two weeks since his return.

 _Hope she's not out in this_ , he thought worriedly. Usagi's fear of storms had been well known to him even when they did nothing but argue. He glanced at his clock; she should be home by now.

His hopes were soon dashed, however- as if summoned by his thoughts, a familiar blonde figure appeared running down the sidewalk next to him carrying a few bags of groceries. He pulled the car over and rolled the window down.

"Need a lift?" he called to the soaked teen. Usagi staggered to a stop, shoulders heaving as she looked at him mistrustfully. "Come on Usagi-chan, it's pouring and you know I go right past your house."

Another loud thunderclap sounded as lightning apparently struck close by; with a smothered yelp, Usagi jumped to the car, frantically pulled the door open and got in. Mamoru busied himself with checking the nonexistent traffic as he pulled away from the curb; he knew she wouldn't want to appear afraid in front of him. Once her breathing slowed down, he glanced over to see her glaring down at her drenched, clinging shirt. His cheeks warmed faintly as he dragged his eyes hastily away from the sight of the thin t-shirt plastered to Usagi's body. Though the girl had managed to hide most of the telltale signs of fear, she still flinched slightly every time another _crack_ sounded outside.

"So, Usagi-chan," he said cheerfully. "How's life treating you?"

"Aside from getting me soaked? Just dandy," she grumbled. Mamoru caught a sideways glance in his direction. "Thanks for the ride though. I had no idea we were supposed to get any rain today."

"Yeah, me neither," he commiserated. "The weather man mentioned a chance of showers, but nothing like this!"

"Showers? HAH! I'll show HIM showers. Showers of pain!" Mamoru chuckled at his feisty companion's exaggerated threats, unsurprised when her mercurial mood shifted again.

"So, Baka-san, what made you stop for me?" she asked teasingly. Mamoru raised a sardonic eyebrow at her that wordlessly said, Really? You really want to go there? Apparently the answer was an emphatic No as she flushed and stammered, "I-I mean Mamoru-san. Sorry, that was uncalled for. Old habits." She flashed an apologetic smile at him.

He smiled ruefully back at her.  "No, I know how that can be. Actually, I'm trying to change some old habits myself." He gazed through the rain-spattered windshield and felt the smile fade from his face. "While I was away, I... had a lot of time to think. I realized that I've been too harsh with a lot of people in the last year, especially you. I regret that." _Usako... I miss you so much, even when you're right there.  And even then, I feel like a moth near a flame- I can’t keep myself away from you, even when I know it’s going to hurt._ He swallowed quickly to try and rid his voice of any tightness. "I understand if you'd rather I go take a flying leap, but... do you think we might be able to start over?  Maybe try and be friends?"

He risked a glance to the side to see Usagi staring at him bemusedly. "I promise, no more name calling or insults." He managed a grin at her look of befuddlement, but as no further response seemed to be forthcoming, it slowly faded.  He cleared his throat to try to lessen some of the sudden tightness in his chest.  The silence in the car grew uncomfortable, and he spotted Usagi’s house up ahead with a mixture of pain and relief.   _I’ve only got myself to blame here_ , he told himself sternly as he pulled the car over.   _If I’d been able to get my head out of my ass earlier we might actually have been on reasonably good terms.  I shouldn’t be surprised that she’d rather never see me again._

He stopped the car in front of the house, hopped out, and jogged over to Usagi’s side as she fumbled with the grocery bags.  “Here, let me grab some of those,” he offered as he opened her door.  “Looks like you’ve got quite a bit there.”  Usagi stood, then turned back to the car to get a better grip on the bags; Mamoru wasn’t sure if she was even acknowledging the offer, and his heart sank further in his chest.

Suddenly, the sky split open as the biggest lightning bolt Mamoru had seen in years struck right behind the house.  Momentarily deafened, he still couldn’t help but hear Usagi’s shriek of pure terror, and automatically reached out to her.  Apparently fear trumped dislike; she leaped into his arms and clung like a limpet, and he wrapped his arms around her in as comforting an embrace as he could.  She was shaking so hard he was afraid she might actually hurt herself, and he tried to project as much calm and soothing warmth as he could.  The rain had started pelting down with even more force than before as soon as the lightning hit; belatedly, he pulled the side of his jacket around her to try and shelter her a bit.  If the rain was stinging his skin, he could only imagine how it felt to her.  

Gradually, her tremors subsided; no more lightning flashed, and the rain subsided from the violent downpour to a more normal, steady shower, and from there to a faint drizzle.  Mamoru let his jacket fall back to his side, and gently rubbed one hand on her back in a small circle.  A small tearstained face appeared from where it had buried itself in his chest, and he ached with the desire- no, the need- to kiss those trembling lips and further soothe away her fears.  His hand rose of its own volition to cradle her cheek, and he gently wiped away one more tear that had spilled over.  “It’s over,” he said quietly.  “No more thunder.”  Her cheek warmed under his hand, and her eyes widened as she flushed, staring at him.  

Mamoru stepped back, trying to not seem awkward ( _way too late,_ he thought with an internal grimace) and instead briskly rubbed Usagi’s arms as if he had only been trying to warm her up, then let his hands drop to his sides.  He turned back to the car and grabbed the four bags of groceries sitting in the footwell.  Studiously avoiding eye contact, he was about to walk to the house when a hand on his arm stopped him.

“How- how did you know I was afraid of thunder?” Usagi asked curiously.  “Even before that last big one, you knew- and you knew what to do to help me,” she said with certainty.

Mamoru looked down for a moment, then back into her eyes.  “You mostly hide it well,” he said with a small smile, “but a friend I grew up with gets the same way.  You both flinch or freeze for just a moment when lightning strikes.  I noticed it months ago, actually, just wasn’t in a position to do anything about it until now.  And I know how much you like hugs and physical contact anyway, a blind man could see that,” he laughed awkwardly.  “I figured it couldn't hurt, at the least.”

She stared at him thoughtfully, hand still on his arm.  “You know, Mamoru-san,” she said slowly, “I don’t think I really know you at all.  Maybe we should change that.”  She smiled and took her hand off his arm, instead offering it for a handshake.  “Truce?”

Transferring two of the bags to his left hand, he gratefully shook hers.  “Truce,” he said, ignoring the sting at the back of his eyes.

The pair walked the short distance to the front door, where Usagi took the bags from him with thanks.  As Mamoru drove away, he couldn’t keep down the small bubble of hope in his heart.   _Maybe… just maybe_ , he thought with a faint smile.   _If you can give me a chance, I can try to win your heart like a normal person._

Back at the house, Usagi watched the red car pull away, and couldn't help but wonder why his arms around her had seemed so familiar… and so right.


	4. Chapter 4

All hell had broken loose.  Two of the monsters they had decided to call Cardians (for the way they turned into cards when they died) were rampaging in the park, and while so far Sailor Venus and Tuxedo Mask had been able to handle one Cardian at a time, two was looking like a much more difficult proposition.  Every time Tuxedo Mask managed to distract one of them from Venus, the other took over, making her aim with her Crescent Beams less accurate and less damaging.  Even worse, both monsters kept draining passers-by of their energy at every opportunity, so the ground around the fight was now littered with unconscious bodies they had to watch out for.

Out of nowhere, a familiar tall, brown-haired figure rushed over to one of the victims and fell to her knees, trying to pick him up and get him out of harm’s way.  The darker of the two Cardians, which were identical otherwise (some kind of weird fish-like thing) spotted the vulnerable girl immediately, leaping over Venus’ head and landing in front of her.  Venus spun to see Makoto staring up at the bizarre creature with shock and rage in her eyes; behind her was the unexpected sight of Ami, Rei, and Usagi, all running towards the crowd of unconscious people.  Trying to distract the Cardians from the free meals coming their way, Tuxedo Mask threw a flurry of steel-tipped roses at both monsters.  Venus, enraged at seeing all her friends in danger, drew upon new reserves of power.  Instead of the one Crescent Beam spearing out from her pointed finger, a shower of light beams cascaded from her suddenly-incandescent form.  Both Cardians took multiple hits; the one farthest from Venus was still able to leap, which it did with alacrity.  The thing landed directly in front of the still-running Usagi, who skidded to a stop with terror in her eyes.  In a flash, the monster had grabbed her, drained her, and tossed her aside.  

Sound seemed to vanish for Tuxedo Mask for a few moments, his entire being focused on the still blonde form crumpled on the grass.  Silence rang in his ears and the world blurred around him; he found himself spinning a deadly dance of punches, kicks, thrown roses, and slashes and thrusts with his cane while a strange sound impinged on his numbed hearing.  It took a moment to realize the sound was him, screaming wordlessly at the thing in front of him; sound and awareness rushed back and everything was cacophony, madness, screaming and the wet _thump_ of fists and feet and weapon against strange flesh and a white blur out of the corner of his eye and something faintly glowing- glowing?- and then-

_Then-_

“MARS STAR POWER!”

“MERCURY STAR POWER!”

“JUPITER STAR POWER!”

As the light show flared up and changed three girls into Senshi, Venus was distracted and took a hit that threw her into the air, flying across the green space into Tuxedo Mask.  Both fighters tumbled head over heels, rolling dizzily to their feet only to see a fog blanket the area, followed shortly by a blast of combined fire and electricity, then another.  As the fog faded, they saw the now-familiar sight of cards, hanging in the air before dropping and fading to black.  Venus laughed, dangerously close to tears, as her sisters in combat threw their arms around her and each other, the four figures staggering slightly but no one caring.  After a few moments of tight, breath-stealing hugging, Mars pulled back and dashed the tears from her eyes, looking around for their missing member.  Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of Usagi still unconscious, cradled in Tuxedo Mask’s arms.

“Is she ok?” she called breathlessly as she ran to his side.  He didn’t answer for a long moment, long fingers pressed to Usagi’s pulse.  Around them, the collapsed civilians started to stir slightly, and faint color started to creep back into Usagi’s cheeks as Tuxedo Mask sighed in relief.  “She should be fine,” he said quietly.  “She might take a few minutes longer to wake up since she was the last one drained, but other than that, no real damage.”  Glancing around the clearing at the still-unaware crowd, he looked over at the other Senshi who had gathered behind Mars.  “We should probably either detransform or get out of here. Possibly both. The rest of them should wake up soon."

"The shrine is the closest," Mars volunteered. The girls nodded and promptly released their transformations in bursts of light; following suit, Mamoru picked up the still-unconscious Usagi silently and raised an eyebrow at the girls who blinked at him in mild shock. _It's not like they don't know who I am_ , he thought in amusement. After an apparent mental adjustment, the six teens headed out.

***

Rei closed the sliding panel to her bedroom quietly. "Looks like she's out for at least a little while. We should be able to talk without disturbing her if we're quiet."

Usagi had briefly awakened when they were climbing the steps to the shrine, becoming confused and a bit disoriented. Still unable to walk on her own, she had fretted until Rei had settled her into bed where she could nap and hopefully regain some strength.

With all parties comfortably settled in the sitting area, Mamoru quietly asked, "Anyone get hurt in that? I can patch you up."

"Oh- thanks for the offer," Ami started while the others made quiet noises of demurral, "but-"

"Minako-chan, don't even try to tell me you're fine," he interrupted while glaring at the startled blonde across the table.  She winced. "Sorry Ami-san," he said more gently, "what I should have started with is, 'I can heal you, who's feeling beaten up?' Minako has this tendency to ignore her injuries and then acts surprised when she falls over." He capped this with another glare at the mutinous-looking Minako.

"Mamoru-kun likes to ignore the fact that he'll fall over too if he does too much healing, so don't be all high and mighty with me, buddy!" she countered with a huff of her own. The three other girls stared in varying levels of astonishment until Ami shook herself and asked excitedly, "You can heal? Really? Like lay-on-hands healing? How does it work? Can I see?"

Minako sighed as a slight, smug smile crossed Mamoru's face. "Fine, we'll demonstrate," she grumbled. She winced as she stood and walked over to Mamoru's side of the table, sat, and pulled up her shirt on her right side. Rei and Makoto hissed in sympathy at the red weals cris-crossing her ribs. Deep bruising already showed under the marks, some places likely showing where ribs were cracked, judging by Minako's pallor and clenched jaw.  Mamoru sighed and shook his head at her, muttering "Stubborn wench," then got to work.

Now that he'd been able to summon the healing- the psychometry, as Artemis had put it- under conscious control, he was able to focus it more, direct it so that less energy did more. _This is where that Anatomy & Physiology class comes in very handy too- I think focusing on exactly what needs to be healed makes things more efficient.  Glad I could get back in to retake last semester's classes.  _

He closed his eyes, focused on the golden warmth in the center of his chest, then brought his right hand to Minako's ribs, fingertips just brushing the skin.  Warmth and golden light flowed into Minako, washing over the painful bruising, which faded in minutes to a few faint gray smudges, looking weeks old instead of an hour.  Mamoru took a deep breath as the light faded, pulled his hand away, and flexed his fingers to stretch his hand out.  As usual, he felt tired, but it seemed to get easier every time he used this new power.   _Maybe it’s like using a muscle,_ he thought distractedly as the girls chattered in amazement.   _Maybe I get stronger- or have more stamina or something- the more I do this._  He certainly hoped that was the case.  With 3 more Senshi fighting alongside him and Venus, he’d likely have more injuries to tend.  Hopefully they’d be smaller injuries since the fighting would be easier, but he’d rather be prepared for the worst.  

As the girls shot questions and answers back and forth across the square table, Mamoru absently answered whenever one was posed to him.  Most of his attention was focused on the divider across the room.  Was she actually okay?  Had she been hurt in her fall and they just hadn’t noticed?  The room was quiet for several seconds before he noticed and paid attention to the group in front of him again.  He noted with unease the intent look on Rei’s face, the mistrust on Makoto’s, couldn’t read Ami’s expression… what was going on?  

As he opened his mouth to ask just that, Rei broke the silence with a sharp question.  “Mamoru-san, what are your intentions towards Usagi-chan?  Are you going to try to awaken her?  Are-”

“No!” he interrupted before she could get any more accusations out.  “No, I’m not going to try anything,” he continued more quietly as the rest of the girls eyed him suspiciously, with the sole exception of Minako.  She looked on with sympathy towards both sides.  

“Usagi-chan seems so… happy right now, so content, that I don’t want to force her back into her former role if I can avoid it.  And we’ve been doing alright on our own, right Minako-chan?”  Next to him, Minako nodded firmly with a determined smile. “With you three fighting as well, I don’t think we really need Usagi-chan to fight, so… I’d like to just let her be, if we can.”  Mamoru rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before continuing.  “As far as my intentions go…” He closed his eyes and sighed heavily.  “I still love her, but as far as she knows I’m just some guy who was incredibly annoying up until a few weeks ago.  For now I’m just trying to see if we can be friends before I think about anything else,” he finished quietly.  Looking up at the girls, he thought he saw more sympathy in their eyes, hastily hidden by averted gazes on Rei and Makoto’s parts.  

The quiet lasted an awkward minute before they heard stirring from the other side of the partition.  Rei got up immediately to check on Usagi; from the sleepy murmurs he heard, it seemed like she was more coherent than before, and not in any pain, but still exhausted.  “Can you make sure she gets home safe?” he asked the remaining girls quietly.  “I don’t think she’d be comfortable with me walking her home, as out of it as she still is.”

At the affirmative answer from Makoto, who promised to carry Usagi herself if necessary, he nodded his thanks and stood to leave.  Minako followed him to the door.

“Are _you_ okay to get home on your own?” she asked with concern.  Mamoru noted in the back of his mind that her more serious side seemed to be coming to the fore more often the longer they fought together.  He sometimes wondered which was the “real” Minako, before mentally slapping himself upside the head.  Complicated did not even begin to cover this girl- she had more facets than a polished gem.  “I’m fine,” he answered softly.  “It’s getting easier to heal every time I do it.”

Minako looked at him askance for a moment, then shrugged.  “And what about Usagi-chan?” she asked even more quietly.  

Mamoru bowed his head for a moment, eyes tightly shut, then looked at Minako levelly.  “She was just attacked, and probably doesn’t feel her best right now.  I don’t think she needs someone who she’s barely starting to be friends with to walk her home right now.”

As he turned and walked into the cool evening, Minako watched him go sadly.  She picked up more emotion than anyone really suspected, and not one of the girls would believe her if she tried to describe the depth of the aching sadness she could feel in the young man she was starting to consider a close friend.  While she wanted Usagi to have a normal life as much as the rest of the girls, and needing to wake her would mean an enemy that the four of them plus Tuxedo Mask couldn’t defeat, she couldn’t help but hope- for his sake- that Usagi remembered her past sooner rather than later.

 

 


	5. Interlude - Usagi

She claws at the hand holding her in the air by her throat, but doesn’t close her eyes.  She tries to keep her gaze focused on his, warm blue eyes glazed to black and frozen over with magic.  Tears stream down her face as she begs him to _wake up_ , please, please _remember-_

_flash_

She sobs as she cradles his head in her lap, begs him to stay with her, bows her head in paralyzing grief when his chest stops its faltering rise and fall.  She can’t even kiss him goodbye before she walks away because her friends, her _best friends,_ had never gotten that chance for themselves, and she can’t- can’t-

_flash_

Dark energy blasting at her, met by incandescent white flaring from her wand, her crystal, her _soul -_ she pushes and pushes and it’s _working_ but she’s just so tired and it _hurts_ and she misses everyone and she wishes- wishes- just before it all goes dark-

“USAGI!”

She groaned and pried open one eye as her mother stomped into her bedroom and forcefully pulled the blankets off of her.  Fragments of dream-memories swirled through her head before vanishing without a trace.  She looked up at the clock and realized-

“Aaaaahhhhh I’m so _LATE!!”_

The next few minutes went about like what she expected for a day when she woke up late- which is to say, pretty much any day- dressing in a hurry, pulling a brush through her pigtails and blessing whatever gene she had that kept her long hair from tangling the way most people’s hair did, grabbing book bag and lunch bag and running out the door and headlong down the streets-

Straight into a familiar jacket-clad shoulder.

As fast as she had been going, she bounced back, nearly falling until hands caught her shoulders and steadied her.  She caught her breath as she looked up into deep blue eyes, fringed by thick black lashes.   _Really, how is it fair that he has such great lashes?  How does that even happen?! Ugh._ She automatically braced herself, waiting for the inevitable insult-laden tirade-

“Morning, Usagi-chan!” her usual nemesis said with a small quirk of his lips.   _Really, is that his version of a smile or just a twitch?_  “You okay there?”

She blinked, startled for a moment.   _Oh right, he said yesterday he’s trying to be not a jerk.  Well, so far so good.  Might as well enjoy it while it lasts, I seriously doubt he’ll last more than a week with this._  “Fine, thanks for the save there.  Sorry about the crash, Mamoru-san.”

“No harm done,” he answered with the slightest smile.  “Well, better hurry or I’ll be late.  Later, Usagi-chan.”  He jogged off, still without any insults being thrown.  Usagi stared after him for another moment before snapping out of her daze and wailing as the bell rang for the start of the school day.

***

The walk to the Game Center Crown didn’t take long, as Usagi and her new friend Makoto excitedly discussed the arcade’s many virtues.  Aside from the many games, the cute toys in the crane games, and the delicious sodas and milkshakes on offer, the best part of the Crown had to be the delightful Motoki.  

“Any day he’s there is guaranteed to be better than it would normally,” Usagi confided in her new friend.

“Oh absolutely!” agreed Makoto with a blush.  “He’s so dreamy, he really reminds me of my sempai at my old school.  Only WAY nicer and cuter of course!” she laughed.

The sliding doors to the arcade opened in front of them, and both stood in the doorway delightedly taking in the sights before them.  Nothing out of the ordinary of course, but sometimes all a girl really needed was a good arcade, a cute guy who worked there, and of course-

“Two chocolate milkshakes please!" Usagi called as she waved to the blonde behind the counter.  Motoki waved in acknowledgement, grinning at the excited teens who immediately dashed to the Sailor V games on the side.  

***

Usagi and Makoto sat at the counter, slurping down large sodas after a great session of game-playing. "I still can't believe you beat me at Sailor V," Makoto grumped. "No one comes close at the arcade on the other side of town!"

"Yeah, well, that arcade is tiny and way not as cool as this one," Usagi replied with a flip of her hand. "Besides, I've got to be good at something, and I sure know English isn't it!" she continued with a groan. "I'm so completely screwed with this homework, I hate it so much!"

"You know, Mamoru's fluent in English," Motoki said as he grabbed glasses from further down the line and slid a coffee over to a customer who had just sat down- who then straightened with a jerk to glare at his friend.

"Motoki, what are volunteering me for now?" Mamoru asked with a weary sigh. He turned his head at Motoki's gesture to the girls two seats down from him, and stilled, an unreadable look in his eyes. "Usagi-chan?"

Usagi smiled, a bit awkwardly; she still wasn't sure what to make of this new, “improved” Mamoru. "Hi, Mamoru-san," she said, then remembered her new friend, who looked on with a bit of color in her cheeks. "Oh," she stuttered hastily, "this is my new friend, Kino Makoto-chan. Mako-chan, Mamoru-san is a college student that I've been running into periodically for the last several months."

"She means that literally in most cases," Mamoru said to Makoto dryly.  "Nice to meet you, Kino-san," he said, bowing slightly. Usagi made a face at him, at which he shrugged and grinned, the biggest smile she’d seen on him that was not related to him actively making fun of someone. The expression changed his face in subtle but extremely compelling ways- little crinkles around his eyes, the hint of a dimple… Really, it was a completely different smile from anything she had seen before.  Usagi shrugged and smiled back. _Wow, when he's not being a total jerk, he actually does seem kind of nice.  And actually, really cute… For a jerk, anyway._

Mamoru cleared his throat nervously.  “Anyway, was Motoki volunteering me for tutoring or something?”

“Yeah!” said Motoki cheerfully, somehow unaffected by the glare that even Usagi could feel coming from Mamoru.  “Usagi-chan said she hated her English homework, and you were always really good at explaining it to me so I could understand it, so I thought you’d be the perfect tutor for her.  I mean, come on,” the other man laughed, “You got _my_ grade up to a B+, when I had failed the first 2 tests!”

Mamoru waved his hand dismissively. "You really need to give yourself more credit there. Your teacher for that class _spoke_ English very well, but really wasn't very good at teaching. Once I helped you think of ways to remember the different rules, you were fine."

"Really?" Usagi asked, intrigued. "That's the biggest thing I have problems with."

“Well,” Mamoru said a bit hesitantly, “If you want, we could sit and go through that homework, see if there’s anything I can help you understand better…”

Usagi smiled.  “If you don’t mind spending time with a middle school kid, I’d certainly appreciate the help,” she said a bit self-consciously.  “I think if I bomb one more test my mom might actually make good on her threats to kick me out!”

“Well, if you’re going to study I should probably get going too,” said Mako, grabbing her school bag from her feet.  Usagi started to invite her to stay, but she demurred politely.  “I study better alone at home anyway- I’d be too distracted here.  See you tomorrow!”

***

“More new friends, Usagi-chan?” Motoki asked cheerfully as the quiet blue-haired girl between her and Mako started slightly.  Usagi smiled brightly.

“You know me, Motoki-onii-san! This is Mizuno Ami-chan, she was nice enough to help Mako-chan and me with our math homework, and when she said she’d never been to an arcade I knew the Crown was the first place I had to bring her!”  The bluenette blushed slightly in embarrassment, ducking her head between her shoulderblades.  

“A new tutor, eh, Usagi-chan?” All three girls turned to see Mamoru behind them, smiling quietly at Usagi.  “Guess I’ve been replaced then,” he said, bowing slightly to Ami.  “Best of luck, I think you’ll need it with those two!” he said with a chuckle.

Ami turned red and shook her head hastily.  “Oh no, I’m nowhere near as good at teaching English as Usagi-chan said you were!” she said nervously.  Mamoru chuckled and shook his head while Usagi giggled.

While Ami relaxed and started asking college-related questions of Mamoru, Motoki beckoned Usagi closer.  “You know, I never thought I’d say this,” he said with a broad grin, “but I think you two are actually good for each other!  I’ve never seen Mamoru smile as much as he has since you two started getting along.”

Usagi was taken aback.  “Really?  He doesn’t really smile that much with me, are you sure you’re not imagining things?”

Motoki nodded emphatically.  “Definitely,” he said firmly.  “You may have noticed that he’s not so much a ‘wear your heart on your sleeve’ kind of guy, but I’ve known Mamoru a very long time.  He’s much happier now than he was a month ago.”

Usagi frowned in thought, thinking back.   _Well, I did notice the other day that he had a nice smile when he wasn’t being a jerk… and he does seem more relaxed around me than he used to._  She thought about the almost-smiles she’d seen from him too, the ones where he was smiling more with his eyes than with his mouth.  His expression _did_ seem to be warmer when they were studying together than when other people were around.

“Usagi-chan, come on!” Makoto said excitedly.  “Let’s show Ami some games!”

“Yeah!” Usagi cheered, thoughts of smiling, deep blue eyes banished to the back of her mind.  

***

Usagi drifted, boneless, in a dark fog.  Everything was cold, dark; she felt heavy, when she could feel anything at all besides a dull fear.  Gradually she noticed a slow, growing warmth creeping around her… it felt like- arms?  But how could that be?  She didn’t know anyone that would pick her up and carry her, did she?

As she hazily puzzled this over, whispers started drifting through the fog, as if from a long way off.   _...shrine… senshi… fight… Mamoru-san…_ The trickle of warmth crept inside her, seeming to fill a hollow place behind her breastbone.

She twitched at that last word- yes, Mamoru-san definitely was strong enough to carry her, but why would he?   _Oh, why am I even thinking about that, I’m imagining things.  I feel so much warmer now…_ The wrinkle between her brows eased as she unconsciously snuggled into the broad chest she was leaning against, a hand hooking itself into his shirt instinctively.  A feeling of- being rocked?  Something like that, anyway- soothed her.

She continued to drift, the words drifting in and out of focus to her ears until something caught her attention.  What?  Ah yes, her name.  There it was again-

“-clearly, if she’s still unconscious- are you sure she’s ok?” Who was that?

“Other than being drained, yes, Rei-san.”  That voice sounded familiar, but did it normally rumble right in her ear like that?  “Her pulse was strong when I checked earlier, and she’s starting to warm up finally.”   _Endymion,_ something whispered faintly in the back of her mind.   _Mamo-chan,_ something closer whispered.  Her hand fisted in his shirt and her brows furrowed again as she struggled to open her eyes.  "Looks like she's waking up, actually," the voice continued as the rocking feeling stopped.  A babble of feminine voices ensued, and as she pried one eyelid open she was confronted with a wall of concerned girls in front of her.   _Mako-chan, Ami-chan… who are those other two?_  Whoever they were, they both looked just as worried as her friends.  

“What…” she croaked out uncertainly.  She cleared her throat and tried again.  “What happened?”  The girls in front of her stopped talking as soon as she opened her mouth, and looked at each other uncertainly.  The wall she was leaning against rumbled in her ear again.

“There was a… an attack,” came Mamoru’s voice.  She managed to tilt her head back and look up, and saw tired blue eyes in a face that had a look of relief spreading across it.  “You were unconscious, and Rei-san said we could take you to her grandfather’s shrine to recover since it’s close by.”

Usagi blinked slowly in tired astonishment.   _Attack?  What?_  Images flashed through her mind in a delayed reaction- walking with Ami and Mako, a girl in a gray uniform running past them, screams from the park ahead, Mako tearing off and passing the other girl as she briefly doubled over in pain, Ami and Usagi following- then some giant weird-looking _thing_ appearing, then- _pain-_

She winced involuntarily at the memories, and Mamoru’s arms around her tightened reassuringly.  “Those things are gone,” he said quietly.  “The Sailor Senshi showed up and destroyed them right after you got there, just unfortunately not before one of the monsters drained your energy.  You should be fine with some rest.”

“We’re almost to the shrine,” said one of the unfamiliar girls- belatedly, Usagi recognized her as the one who had run past them toward the park.  “You can rest in my room until you feel strong enough to go home.”  

“I don’t… mean to be trouble…” Usagi said slowly, words seeming to take much more effort than normal.  “I should just go,” she said, squirming a bit in Mamoru’s hold.  Things seemed to be getting easier, she was surely fine to walk home, right?

“Oh, no you don’t,” Mamoru said warningly from above her.  “There’s no way you could even walk a block right now, let alone get all the way home.”  His expression was implacable as she looked up in disgruntlement.  “Just settle down for now, you’ll get home soon enough.”

Feeling extremely awkward at having to be carried, Usagi kept trying to convince Mamoru to let her down the entire way up the steep stairway to the Hikawa shrine.  He steadfastly refused, only letting her out of his arms to put her in Rei’s bed.  When she couldn’t help but lie (flop) down, she admitted he might have a point, and she let Rei bring the blankets up around her without a fuss.  As Mamoru stood to leave, she reached and grabbed his hand.   _Warm,_ she noted absently, in the back of her mind.  He stopped immediately, turning back and going to one knee beside the bed to bring his face closer to her level.  

“Thank you,” she half-whispered, something inside her telling her that he had helped her more than he said.  She tried to put her gratitude into her eyes.  His eyes looking back at her warmed in response, and he smiled that small, private smile that she never saw him give to anyone else.  

“Anytime, Usagi-chan,” he said quietly.  He took his hand from hers to gently smooth her hair back from her brow and tuck the blankets around her closer.  Usagi felt her eyelids growing heavier, and as they drifted shut she smiled, feeling a gentle caress on her cheek before sleep claimed her.


	6. Chapter 6

Mamoru slumped onto his usual stool at the Game Center Crown with a tired sigh. Motoki appeared with a fresh, hot cup of coffee and a sympathetic smile; Mamoru accepted both with a smile of his own.

"Rough day?" Motoki asked as he passed the creamers. Mamoru stirred cream into the coffee before answering.

"Long day," he said with a sigh. "Last night's... encounter... didn't start until 3am, so I didn't bother going back to bed."

"Did everything... get resolved?" Motoki asked as Mamoru sucked down half the coffee greedily. He nodded as Motoki automatically filled it back up.

"Nasty, but done," Mamoru confirmed. "Only one injury bad enough to have to fix, so there was that at least."

Motoki's response was interrupted by a crowd of middle-schoolers piling through the arcade doors, chattering at top volume. At the center, Usagi looked slightly flushed, with a very excited Naru proclaiming something at her. At the back of the crowd, Makoto and Ami looked on quietly with reserved expressions.

One girl who had been on the other side of Usagi looked around the arcade with a bored expression, which quickly changed to bright-eyed interest when she saw him. She tossed her reddish hair over one shoulder and approached with swinging hips and a hungry expression that left Mamoru feeling slightly unnerved.

"Hi there," the girl cooed, "My name’s Ginja Natsumi.  I just moved here, so I really don't know my way around very well. Care to show me the highlights of the city?" She actually batted her eyelashes at him. Mamoru would have been almost impressed by her directness if he didn't feel like a canary being eyed by a cat.

“Umm, sorry, but I don’t really, uh…” He noticed Usagi making her way over to him and greeted her with slightly desperate cheer.  “Usagi-chan!  How are you?  Excuse me, miss, just want to catch up with my friend here…”  With Motoki looking on in amusement, he dodged the determined-looking redhead and beckoned to Usagi with a pleading look in his eyes.

Usagi looked highly amused, but took pity on him and didn’t openly laugh while walking over to him.  They quickly grabbed the two seats on the far end of the counter; Natsumi looked on with narrowed eyes and crossed arms before tossing her hair and flouncing back to the crowd.

“So,” Usagi started with sparkling eyes, “how are YOU today, Mamoru-san?”

“I was fine until just a few minutes ago,” he replied with a roll of his eyes.  “At the moment I feel rather hunted.  Thanks for, uh, coming to my rescue,” he said with a small laugh.  “Do you know that girl?”

“Yeah, she just transferred into my class,” Usagi said offhandedly.  “She and her brother just moved here from… France, I think it was.  They seem nice, I guess.  A little weird, but nice enough.  Naru seems to think Seijuuro has a… a thing for me or something,” she said with a slight flush.  “I think he’s just flirting.”

Mamoru’s stomach clenched, but he kept his expression from showing it.  "Oh?" he said mildly. "What would you do if he was serious?”

Usagi looked blank for a moment, her eyes quickly going to a figure that had just walked in the doors.  “I dunno,” she mumbled.  “I mean, he’s pretty cute, he seems nice enough, but I just met the guy!” she continued more strongly.  “It’s not like I’d start dating someone I don’t even know, what if we had nothing in common?”

Mamoru smiled, trying to keep relief from his expression. “You know Odango, you’re smarter than some people give you credit for,” he teased.

Usagi’s eyes widened comically, and she jumped up from her seat to press her hand against his face.  “What? Are you feeling all right?”  She set her fists on her hips with a mock glare at him.  “Okay, who are you and what have you done with Baka-san?”

His face felt like it had been branded where she had touched him, but he laughed at her mulish expression all the same.  She was only able to hold it for a few moments before she started giggling too.  Still unused to the pair actually getting along, several pairs of eyes were on them, but only two pairs- one garnet, one crystal blue- narrowed challengingly.

***

In the darkened, deserted shopping district, visibility was suddenly cut to nil as heavy fog poured around a twisted figure standing outside a broken shop window. Water quickly condensed as the thing writhed around, flailing rubbery arms at the slim shadows that darted around it. A cry of pain went up before another voice shouted, "NOW, Jupiter!" Lightning crashed at the cardian, now conveniently soggy- and thus, electrocutable. Unearthly screeches echoed off the walls before it finally pulled its usual card-disintegration vanishing act.

As the fog swiftly cleared, Sailor Mercury ran across the street to where Mars was collapsed against a wall. She hastily checked the fallen Senshi's pulse while looking her over for other obvious wounds. Torso and limbs seemed unscathed; when the blue-clad fighter checked Mars' skull, however, it was a different story. Before she could call out, she heard footsteps approaching hurriedly.

"What's she got?" Tuxedo Mask asked, kneeling next to the pair. "Deep scalp wound, possible concussion, though the bone seems intact," came the grim but calm response. He removed his gloves quickly- skin-to-skin contact seemed to make it easier- and threaded his fingers gently through the thick black locks currently pooling on the sidewalk. As golden light danced around Mars' head, the other Senshi joined the, wearily stretching and massaging abused limbs before dropping their transformations.

"Hah!" Minako said smugly after Rei had woken up and likewise changed back. "Told you that streak wouldn't last, Rei-chan, pay up!"

"Oh, bite me, Minako-chan," the exhausted miko grumbled. "At least I managed to hold out the longest before needing Golden Boy over here." Mamoru raised a sardonic eyebrow, and Rei flashed an apologetic grin at him. "Thanks, by the way," she said quietly.

"No problem," Mamoru replied as he carefully stood, checked his balance, then offered Rei a hand up. The fact that she took it only emphasized that while he had healed her, the process hadn't exactly been easy on either of them. The Senshi generally found that they were more tired after a healing than after a long fight; Ami theorized that the energy to heal came from both Mamoru and the one being healed. Mamoru just knew that the worse the injury, the more he felt like he’d been run over by a train.  

“Still, Rei-chan, you bet me a thousand yen that you wouldn’t need to get healed, and you just did.  Pay up!”

The grumbling and bickering lasted until Minako had to split off from the group to get to her parents’ house, and even then both parties swore that it was not over.  Mamoru just hoped they’d get it settled before he got to the arcade the next day.   _Although I seriously doubt that will happen,_ he thought amusedly.   _Those two seem to take special joy in tormenting each other._

***

True to form, Minako and Rei were still bickering when Mamoru walked in the following afternoon- although it seemed to be over a game rather than the bet of the previous night.   _It’s always something,_ he thought, sharing an amused look with Makoto, whose eyes were rolling so hard he thought she might go blind.  He chuckled as he slid onto his usual stool; Motoki grabbed the usual cup of coffee before coming over.  His face, however, didn’t have its usual cheerful expression; when Mamoru quirked an eyebrow in question, Motoki jerked his head towards the row of Sailor V games.  When Mamoru looked, he saw Usagi- but hovering over her in an entirely too-close-for-Mamoru’s-comfort manner was an unfamiliar boy.  He was tall, with shaggy-looking light brown hair, and looked to be about 15 or 16.  

“Who’s that?” Mamoru asked uneasily.   _Something about him seems… off.  Am I just jealous?_  He tried to take stock of his emotions; while he was certainly uncomfortable seeing Usagi with the boy, he didn’t think that was all of it.  

“New kid,” Motoki answered briefly.  “Seems to be pretty popular with the girls.”

Mamoru continued to watch out of the corner of his eyes.  Other girls approached and flirted with the new boy with varying levels of subtlety; he seemed to respond to most of them favorably enough that they went off again with a smile, but he stayed next to Usagi, a hand on her shoulder or sitting with his shoulder touching hers.  “Does Usagi look a little… uncomfortable to you?” he asked Motoki carefully.

His friend scrutinized the pair with narrowed eyes.  “Mmmm… maybe a little?” he offered hesitantly.  Motoki jumped slightly and grabbed the rag he used for wiping down the counters as Usagi turned towards them.  

“Slick,” Mamoru muttered out of the side of his mouth before taking a sip of coffee.  Motoki glared in response but was unable to snipe back before Usagi got into hearing range.

“Hi Mamoru-san!” the blonde said cheerfully.  Mamoru still occasionally kicked himself for being such a childish jerk to the girl previously.  This was definitely one of those times.  She was so bright and happy most of the time… _I definitely could have used more of that in my life the last few years.  Too bad I couldn’t get my head out of my ass._

“Hi Usagi-chan.  How’s life?” he asked with a smile he couldn’t repress.  “Aced any English tests lately?”

“ACTUALLY!” she bubbled excitedly, “I got an 85 on my last exam!  For me that practically _is_ acing it!”

“Congratulations!” he said happily. “Glad my language tricks could help.”

“Oh they totally saved me,” Usagi gushed as she sat on the barstool next to him.  “Haruna-sensei actually pulled me aside to say how proud she was!”

Mamoru laughed appreciatively.  “Hey, want a milkshake? My treat.”

“Sure!” she said happily.  “I’ll never turn down a free milkshake!  Onii-san, double chocolate peanut butter please!”

As Motoki cheerfully whipped up the sugary treat, Mamoru noticed the boy Usagi had been sitting with approaching.  His gait seemed oddly… predatory, almost.  He found himself automatically assessing the other as a threat, and was not pleased by the results his mind presented him with.  

_Maybe an inch shorter than me, if that, so no advantage in reach; moves like he’s trained in either fighting or dancing.  Or both.  Probably damn quick, looks very sharp, probably wouldn't play by the rules… I would not want to come up against him in a fight._

“Usagi-chan, are you done playing?” the other asked casually.  

“Yeah, time for a milkshake break.  Mmm, thanks Motoki-san!” Usagi said while gulping down her shake.  “Mamoru-san, since you were nice enough to treat me, want a sip?  Oh, by the way- Mamoru-san, this is Ginja Seijuuro-san, he’s Natsumi-san’s brother.  Seijuuro-san, Mamoru-san.”

The two shook hands; Mamoru was mildly surprised to see the other boy did not use it as an excuse to try the strength of his grip in some kind of macho display.  Both shook hands firmly but normally, clearly assessing each other.  To Mamoru’s hidden irritation, the younger boy seemed to dismiss him casually, turning back to Usagi as she handed the milkshake to Mamoru.  

“Well, come find me when you’re done, then,” Seijuuro said with an almost smug air.  Mamoru kept his expression smooth with a supreme exercise of willpower, helped by a gulp of double-chocolate-peanut-buttery goodness.  His eyes widened with deliberately comical surprise.

“That’s not a standard shake, is it?” he asked as he handed it back.

“Nope!” Motoki answered as Usagi proceeded to gulp down a quarter of the shake at once.  “Usagi’s the only one who orders it, and my dad won’t let me add it to the menu as a regular even if it is amazing.”

“His loss,” Mamoru said with a smile.  “Usagi-chan, I bow to your superior knowledge of milkshakes.”  Usagi cackled in triumph as he stood and bowed gracefully.  

Minako meandered over from the racing game in the back, apparently done with poking Rei for the nonce; she appeared amused and intrigued by Mamoru’s apparent loss at something.  “What in the world is going on here?” she asked as Usagi’s laughter subsided and Mamoru sat back down.  

“I have ceded victory to Usagi over milkshake knowledge,” Mamoru said loftily.  “She clearly has me bested, and I cannot hope to win.”

Minako just raised an eyebrow at Usagi.

“He likes my special milkshake,” Usagi translated with sparkling eyes.  Minako’s eyes widened with glee at the phrasing.

“OOOHHHH, the SPECIAL milkshake, is it?” the demon disguised as a blonde leered.  Usagi blinked, then flushed bright red as Minako cackled.  The two had apparently bonded after Usagi had ended up at Rei’s that night, which was good news to Mamoru’s mind.  Among the recurring replays of his and everyone else’s deaths at Beryl’s hands, he was also starting to have nightmares about Usagi- mostly involving her getting attacked by some monster or another without him or any Senshi around.  At least if she was with them, she'd have some protection if something popped up.

Minako continued to make completely filthy innuendos (seriously, how did a fifteen-year-old even come up with these things?) while Usagi blushed furiously  and babbled semi-incoherently. Mamoru just sat back and laughed quietly until Seijuuro, apparently not content to wait for his chosen conquest, came back towards the trio.

"Usagi-chan, are you done with that milkshake yet? The Sailor V game is free again." His voice was smooth, but he couldn't hide a trace of irritation that he actually had to come back and remind her. Usagi, at this point just happy to get away from the filthy joke machine that was Minako, hastily agreed and pelted back over to the other side of the arcade. Mamoru watched her go stoically, trying to keep all emotion from his face.

Apparently he failed. "Mamoru-san, why didn't you try to keep her here? Or at least try to keep that creep away from her?" Minako asked, all traces of joking completely gone from her voice. "It's obvious your feelings for her haven't changed, she's clearly much more comfortable around you than she used to be, maybe you should make a move already!" Her brows furrowed in irritation. “Or did you want Flirty McCreepyface over there to have enough time to convince her?”

Mamoru’s jaw clenched in automatic reaction, but he kept his face motionless otherwise.  “I don’t want to push her,” he said evenly.  “If I screw things up now I could completely lose my chance.”

“Yeah, well, if she starts dating someone else you could lose your chance too,” Minako replied darkly.  “Ever think of that one?” She stared broodily across the arcade before turning to him and raising an eyebrow sardonically.

Mamoru watched Usagi another few moments, then tossed enough money on the counter to cover his bill, and left the arcade in silence.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was harder to write than the others, but I think it turned out okay. This is what I get for writing the next 2 chapters first because I was having too much fun with certain scenes. Oh well, just means the next chapters will be up soon! Let me know what worked and what didn't!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, this chapter features attempted assault, may be triggery for some people.

Mamoru shoved his hands in his jacket pockets as he walked briskly down the street, restless, irritated, thoughts of Usagi and Seijuuro pricking his mind mercilessly.  Dark clouds drifted just barely above the buildings, fat-bellied and promising rain, seeming to suck up any ambient light into the grayness.  A few quick turns later, and he absently noted the area- not a good one.  His eyes scanned the corners out of habit, caught on a shadow that moved-

He stopped suddenly as the blurred figures in the deeply shadowed alcove resolved into three- two men, leather jackets and studs and tattoos proclaiming their allegiance to some local gang, and a smaller figure behind them.  Mamoru couldn’t see much, other than the swing of skirt behind the mens’ legs as the hidden figure struggled.  A small foot kicked out, catching one of the men in the side of the knee; he hit out in retaliation, a high-pitched cry ringing through the alley briefly before being muffled.

Before the alley was silent again Mamoru was in swift motion towards the trio, energy rushing through his veins.  He cursed the fact that he wasn’t transformed, knew there wasn’t time to find a hidden spot, transform, and come back- this girl didn’t have that long.  On silent feet, he quickly stole behind the one standing slightly back from the girl and the other; a swift crouch and spin with one leg out swept the man’s legs out from underneath him, his partially-shaved head hitting the pavement with a thud. At his cry, his companion looked behind him, then shoved the girl into the opposite corner of the alcove, this one shadowed even deeper.  As Mamoru made sure the first man would not reawaken any time soon with a quick kick to the side of the head, the one still standing turned to him with a snarl, pulling a knife from a hidden sheath on his leg.  He didn’t get to do more than wave it threateningly before it was knocked from his hands, Mamoru’s spinning kick hitting him in the wrists hard enough to knock the blade several yards away and leaving his hand tingling and numb.  An inarticulate yell burst from his throat and he hurled himself on the tall figure in front of him-

Which was suddenly not there.

Mamoru spun around the clumsy rush, brought his elbow down on the back of the idiot’s neck as he stumbled past, delivered another kick to the head when the man landed on his hands and knees, noting with grim satisfaction the limpness when the man collapsed to the street.   _Can’t do any more without permanent damage, have to back off and get out-_ Not wanting to take a chance on either of them waking up, he moved quickly to the back corner to check on the girl- best to get her out of here as soon as possible.  She would likely need some kind of medical attention, at the very least.  

As he knelt down beside the huddled figure, her arms clasped protectively over her head, she flinched instinctively, her whole body shaking and tensing away from him.   _God, she’s so tiny_ , he thought sympathetically as he touched her shoulder gently.  “It’s ok,” he said quietly, “They’re not going to hurt you anymore.”   _So small, she could almost be- but she’s not, it’s not her, she has no reason to be out here tonight._  “Let’s just get you out of here-”

He froze as the arms came down from the girl’s head, revealing long blonde hair in two distinctive odangos.  Blue eyes filled with fear looked up at him, filling with tears as she recognized him. "Usagi-chan," he breathed, heart freezing in his chest.

"M-Mamoru-san," she choked out, before bursting into smothered tears. A sound from the alley made them both stifle any noise and look back; Mamoru cursed under his breath as he saw one prone figure start to move slightly.  His teeth ground together and he took a few deep breaths as he looked at Usagi’s assaulters- _Have to get her out of here first, can’t think about revenge, can’t kill them, she wouldn’t want you to do that either, just GO!_

Shaking himself out of his fury, he looked back at Usagi, swiftly noting her tremors, the way she was still curled almost in a fetal position.  “Come on,” he said gently, gathering her into his arms and striding out of the alley.  “I’ve got you.”

As he got them back to the brightly-lit streets outside his apartment, he looked down at Usagi, seeing her dilated pupils, wooden expression, and tense, trembling form.   _She’s probably in shock,_ he thought with dismay.  He cleared his throat gently, noting with pain and carefully-hidden anger her jump of fear before she looked up at him.  

“Do you want me to take you to the hospital?” he asked quietly.  “You might be in shock-”

Usagi’s sudden, violent headshake took him by surprise.  “No- no, no hospitals, they’ll tell my parents, I don’t want-” She seemed to bite her tongue and huddled down into his arms, not meeting his eyes.  

“All right then,” he said calmly as she looked back up in startlement.  “If you don’t mind coming up to my apartment, I have a first aid kit we can use to get you patched up a little.”  She thought about that moment, and he added, “You’re going to be pretty sore soon.  I can at least help with that if you’ll let me.”  She sat tensely silent another moment as they moved a few feet further down the street, then nodded quickly.  

***

Usagi sat stiffly on his couch as he sat next to her, carefully dabbing an alcohol-soaked pad across a scrape on her cheekbone.  She seemed to be holding herself back from saying something as he gently dealt with the thankfully small injuries she had received.  

“So where were you on your way to anyway?” he asked as he worked, his tone very carefully quiet and non-accusatory.   _I don’t want to make her feel guilty for anything, none of this was her fault…_ He knew how much even the thought of accusation could wound in a situation like this.  “Is there anyone you need to call to let them know where you are?”

She sat quietly a moment, relaxing slightly now that the silence had been broken and no harsh words were forthcoming.  “I was on my way to Makoto’s for movie night,” she said softly, a bit distantly.  Her hand moved towards the cell phone next to her, then stopped.  

“You can stay here if you want,” Mamoru said quietly, “or I can take you to Makoto’s, or back home.  Whatever you want, wherever you feel safe.”  He looked Usagi in the eyes calmly, hoping that she would trust him enough to relax the dangerous tension he could still feel inside her.  She stared at him for a long moment, clearly searching for something in his expression.

“I’ll- I’ll stay here,” she said hoarsely.  “If that’s okay.”

“That’s fine, Usagi-chan.  Like I said, whatever you want to do.”  He looked at the phone again.  “Did you want to call Mako to let her know, or would you like me to?” he asked.

She looked at the phone, then back at him.  “I- I just-” She stuttered to a halt, drawing a shaking breath.  He quickly covered one hand with his own, squeezing gently to comfort her.  

“Don’t worry about it,” he said as he took the phone from the couch.  “Just wait right there, I’ll let Mako know so she doesn’t panic when you don’t get there.”

He moved a few steps away into the kitchen area as the cell phone rang in his ear.  “Usagi-chan?  Are you all right?” Mako’s voice asked worriedly.  

“It’s Mamoru, Mako-chan,” he said quietly.  “Usagi-chan had an… encounter on her way over.  She’s not hurt,” he hurried to reassure as Mako sputtered in shock on the other end of the phone.  “She’s shaken up, and she doesn’t want to go home right now, so she’s going to stay here with me for now.”

“What happened?” Mako asked frantically.  “Did another cardian-”

“No, nothing like that,” he said even more quietly, not wanting to disturb Usagi.  “Just a couple of garden-variety thugs, unfortunately.”

The silence on the other side of the line took on an ominous quality.  “I hope they regret it,” came Mako’s growl.  

“Oh, yes,” he said grimly.  “I couldn’t stay too long, but I imagine they’re not feeling at all well right now.”

“Good,” came the expected response.  She was silent for a moment, then sighed in frustration.  “If she wants to stay there, then… take care of her.  And call me if you need anything.   _Anything,_ you understand?”

“Of course.  Good night, Mako-chan.”  The click on the other side of the line was pretty much what he expected.  Mako would not be in the mood for niceties right now.

Turning back to the couch, he picked up the alcohol pad again and returned to the couch.  He picked up her hand and examined the scrapes on it- she had put it out to catch herself when she was tossed into the corner, and his jaw clenched in suppressed rage once more as he gently cleaned the dirt out of the shallow wounds.  Usagi just stared at him again, not even wincing when the alcohol hit the cuts.  After her right hand was done, the silence was broken abruptly.

“How did you know I was there?” Usagi asked tensely, almost urgently.  He glanced up, startled, then looked back down as he switched to her left hand.

“I didn’t,” he said after a moment.  “I was just out walking and passed by that alleyway at random.  All I could see was those two guys, and then I heard you cry out and I started running.”

She stared at him another moment.  “You- you knew it was me from that one cry?”

Mamoru closed his eyes briefly and paused in his ministrations.  “No,” he said quietly, before looking up into wide blue eyes.  “I could tell it was a girl, but that was it.  I didn’t know it was you until after it was done.”

“So- so you would have fought like that for anyone?”

“I would have _fought_ for anyone, because no one deserves to have that happen to them,” he corrected gently.  “I fought harder because even if I thought you were safe at home, that girl _could have_ been you.”  He swallowed, and forced himself to continue.  “Once I knew it was you, the only reason I didn’t do something… drastic… was because I needed to get you out of there.”  He cleared his throat and looked away uncomfortably.  “It’s not something I’m particularly proud of, but I’m not… the most rational guy in the world when it comes to you getting hurt.”  After a moment of silence, he hesitantly looked back up to see her eyes swimming in the tears she hadn’t shed since he had gotten her out of the alley.  His hands tightened on hers unconsciously, until she pulled her hands free.

Then she threw her arms around his neck and glued her lips to his.

Mamoru’s mind stuttered to a stop, completely blank; his body reacted instinctively, arms closing around her waist, mouth opening in response to her insistent nibbling on his lower lip.  Her mouth was warm and slick under his, and she tasted like home; as he brought his hand up to cradle her face she sighed sweetly. He felt a tear hit his thumb, and wiped it away gently.

His brain caught up with the rest of him after a moment, and managed to convince the rest of him to pull away. He gasped a breath in an attempt to gather his strength.

"Usagi-chan, you're not- this is- you're not yourself right now," he stammered, trying frantically to catch his breath.

Usagi pulled back and looked at him with confusion, embarrassment, and lingering pain in her enormous eyes. "You don't- I'm sorry, I- I’ll just- " she stuttered as she started to get up.

"No!" He interrupted desperately, grabbing her shoulder as she started to move.  He gently pulled her back to the couch, then cradled her cheeks between his hands and leaned his forehead against hers.  "Usako," he whispered, just a bare thread of sound, then continued in a slightly stronger tone.  "Trust me, Usagi-chan, there is nothing that I would rather do than continue this, but you've just had a- well, a fairly traumatic experience.  People tend to have strong, sometimes unexpected reactions after things like that, and I just... I don't want you to do anything you wouldn't do if you weren't upset." He sighed as he pulled back and looked in her eyes again. "If you kiss me,” he said quietly, “I want it to be because you _want_ to kiss me, not because you’re scared or upset or anything other than completely yourself.”  He ran his thumb over her cheekbone in a gentle caress, then released her face and took her hands in his.  “I want you to know that you are completely safe with me, Usagi-chan." He smiled sadly and squeezed her hands lightly.  "Even from me."

Usagi’s eyes filled, then flickered shut and overflowed as she took a deep, shuddering breath and let it out in a sob.  Mamoru wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head under his chin, stroking her back as she cried into his chest, fists clenched in his shirt.  Outside, the clouds that had been threatening broke, and the sounds of her grief mixed with the sound of the rain that poured down.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, mature-ish content ahead. Still not more than PG13 but if heavy makeouts squick you out then fast forward when you get to the section break.

_PAIN_

_blue eyes tears so tired no don’t leave me please come back please be okay no please please please…_

Mamoru sat up in bed with a gasp, trembling as he wiped the sweat from his face.   _Again?_ he thought in exhausted despair as he leaned his head against his bent knees.  Every night, his brain tormented him with another replay of his death and return.   _I don’t know if someone up there thinks I’m planning on forgetting anything,_ he thought with irritation, _but whatever the reason, I need more damn sleep._

Suddenly, he heard a low, panicked-sounding moan from his living room, where he had left Usagi to sleep on his couch.  He quickly untangled himself from his sheets and ran out of his bedroom, hearing her thrashing; as he approached the couch, he could see her tossing, her face twisted in despair and pain.  He knelt next to her in a panic, not knowing what to do- should he wake her?  Didn’t that sometimes make it worse?

She cried out "NO!" in a tone so anguished he was moving before he thought. He shook her shoulders carefully, called her name; she quieted, but seeing the tears pour down her face he knew she was still in the dream. "Usagi, please, wake up!" he called desperately, stroking the side of her face in a hopeless attempt to comfort her.

"Mamo-chan," she breathed, her voice filled with grief and longing. Mamoru's heart twisted in his chest, and his throat tightened as he bent closer to her.

"I'm here, Usako," he half-whispered. "I'm here. Please, come back, everything's all right now." He swallowed against the lump in his throat, then sighed in relief as her features eased, then twitched before her eyes opened. She looked up at him uncomprehendingly for a moment before she sighed in relief and sat up, wrapping her arms tightly around his ribs. His arms settled around her shoulders lightly, not wanting to grab too tight.

"Bad dream?" he asked quietly when her shaking had eased. She nodded against his chest before pulling back and wiping her eyes. "Want to talk about it?" he asked, taking one hand gently in his.

Usagi shivered and gripped his hand tighter. "You were- you were _dead_ ," she choked out. "You were laying in my lap and dying and it was my _fault_ -"

"No, Usagi," he said fiercely, grabbing her other hand as well and squeezing, startling her into looking him in the eyes. "It was _not_ your fault, don't ever think that.”

“But-” Usagi stammered, confused.  “How would you- what?”

Mamoru bit the inside of his cheek in vexation.   _Can’t overplay my hand here, she must be starting to remember in dreams.  If I say the wrong thing and trigger something else she might freak out even more._ He cleared his throat uncertainly, trying to think of something to say that would make sense and not bring up more memories.

“It’s just a dream, Usagi-chan,” he said more quietly.  “Just your brain trying to make sense of things.  Nothing in a dream is your fault, there’s nothing to feel guilty over.”

She took a deep breath, clearly trying to center herself, then shivered again.  “It was just- it felt so _real_ … and I feel like there was more before it, but I just can’t remember.”  She looked up at him with an anxious expression.  “Why do I feel like there’s so much I can’t remember?  I keep feeling this- this weird deja vu thing and I just _hate_ it- it’s like there’s this thing just looming over me-” Her voice grew more and more strained as she turned more and more inward, her anxieties pulling her into a spiral.  

Mamoru placed one hand gently on her cheek, forcing her gaze back up to his.  “Hey,” he said gently, “stay with me here.”  Her glassy gaze gradually refocused on his, still full of pain and lingering fear.  

“You were _dead_ , Mamoru-san,” she whispered raggedly, leaning forward to put her forehead against his.  “You were gone, and it hurt- it hurt _so much-_ ”

His heart twisted in his chest, and he curved his hand around from her cheek to cup the back of her neck.  “I’m still here,” he whispered, then gave in to the inner pull.  He shifted slightly, and gently covered her lips with his.  

Mamoru’s world narrowed to the small places where they touched; Usagi’s lips, cool and smooth against his, her hand tightening around his, his other hand against the back of her neck.  All he could think of was soothing- her emotional wounds, raw from the horror of the evening; the gaping hole she had left in his life, slowly filling back in.  He kept the kiss light, gentle, treating her as delicately as blown glass.  She slowly warmed against him, the chill of the dream fading as his hands crept to her waist and around.  

He gently pulled away, opening his eyes to search hers for any hint of distress.  She looked back with a warm, sleepy gaze, smiling at him with a hint of wonder.  Her lips parted slightly, and he nearly leaned forward again before he caught himself, flushing slightly.

“I, um… I should… I should go back to bed,” he stammered, backing away slightly and releasing the warm, pliant girl in his arms.  She looked mildly startled, then flushed as well and looked down at her hands in her lap.  She looked back up after composing herself and smiled warmly at him.

“Good night, Mamoru-san,” she said as he stood.  “Sweet dreams.”

***

Mamoru drifted, boneless and serene in a hazy, mostly-asleep state.  He had no thoughts about moving, as comfortable as he was- he had a soft, snuggly bundle of warmth in his arms, which couldn’t possibly be right, but if this was a dream he was damn well going to enjoy it.  In his somnolent state, it seemed like his arms were wrapped around a slender waist, with a head nestled beneath his chin; a faint flowery scent drifted up from silky hair.  The dream in his arms shifted, and he tightened his grip unconsciously, not wanting to let her go.  More shifting, and he felt the lightest, gentlest touch on his face, a gossamer whisper gliding over his cheekbones, down to his chin, over his lips.  His eyes slipped open of their own accord, and he cursed internally, knowing the dream would be gone when he fully awoke; but when his eyes focused, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he was still dreaming.  There was no way the sight in front of him was real.

Curled trustingly in his arms was Usagi, a small, warm, private smile on her face as she ran her slim fingers back and forth across his bottom lip.  When she noticed his awareness, the smile broadened, and she whispered, “Good morning, Mamo-chan,” before leaning forward the few inches necessary to plant her warm lips on his.   _I am never waking up_ , Mamoru thought deliriously as he responded to the kiss with growing ardency.  He lightly sucked on her bottom lip, humming in appreciation as she gasped faintly; he took advantage of her slightly open mouth to sweep his tongue inside, languorously tangling it with hers until she gasped again, louder this time.  This was not like the gentle, delicate kiss of last night, trying to comfort, to soothe rather than arouse; rather, this was a thorough, focused exploration of the delights he found offered to him so enticingly.  He rolled slightly to bring her partially underneath him and drew back the kiss to a light caress, enjoying the small noise of frustration she made as his lips left hers.  She hummed in satisfaction again as his lips feathered across her cheek and over to her neck, just under her ear.  As she cried out softly in delight, he inhaled deeply of the scent of her hair and smiled against her skin.  The scent was of _her_ , everything about her permeating his thoughts, and all was right with the world.

His hands had been wandering, enjoying the feel of her body, clad in his soft t-shirt and boxers, against his; now they skated up over her ribs and caressed gently, flickering over her belly, back to her side, down to her hip, then firmer over her back as his mouth suckled gently on the join of her neck and shoulder.  Her gasp and moan in reaction were much louder than any previous noises she had made, and jolted him out of his pleasant, pleasure-fueled haze.  He lifted his head and looked down at the gasping, flushed girl underneath him, who looked back up at him with hungry, glazed eyes.  “Don’t stop,” Usagi commanded him breathlessly, then pulled his face back down to hers for a kiss that was breathtaking in its untutored ardor.

Mamoru pulled back again, holding onto his willpower by the slightest of threads.  “Usako, what… What are you…” he trailed off again as the determined blonde yanked him down again, using her full body weight as she wrapped one ridiculously long leg around his hip and undulated in an unconscious but unbelievably sexy motion.

“Mamo-chan, shut up,” she said with a husky quality to her voice that he had never heard before.  “Just- shut up and kiss me.”  She emphasised her point and upped the ante by slipping one brazen hand down his chest and leaning up to nibble and suck her way down his neck, chuckling with an unmistakably feminine zeal as he gasped at the sensation, eyes wide.  She was clearly experimenting, but her instincts were almost scarily accurate; every move she made seemed designed to arouse him to the fullest extent possible.  She arched up again as she kissed him deeply, slowly caressing his entire body with hers.  He groaned as she brushed against that achingly sensitive part of him that did not care in the slightest that she was only 14 years old, or that she didn't remember their past.  His hands seemed to move of their own volition, grabbing onto her deliciously rounded derriere as his hips involuntarily ground against hers.  She moaned into his mouth and hitched her leg higher over his hip, opening herself to him with abandon.  

Through the fog of desire that Usagi’s presence evoked, Mamoru managed- barely- to regain control of himself.  He gradually took back the reins of the situation and slowly gentled the kiss, calming both of them until their hearts were only beating a little faster than normal, rather than pounding at near heart attack speeds.  With one last, achingly sweet kiss, he pulled his head up and looked down at the girl who had completely consumed his life over the last several weeks.  She looked up at him with a dreamy, unfocused gaze, smiling languidly and looking too deliciously mussed for words.  Mamoru pulled his hand from where it had been cradling her head and cupped her cheek instead, sweeping one thumb along her cheekbone.  

“Usako,” he murmured gently with another quick kiss, “Not that I wasn’t delighted to have you here this morning, but why are you in my bed?” His lips quirked in a small smile he couldn’t repress.  “I thought you would be out for the count when I left you on the couch.”

“More nightmares,” Usagi said quietly, her gaze not meeting his.  “Every time I closed my eyes I kept seeing the same things, and the only thing that made them go away was you, so…” She looked back up at him with the most enormous sad-puppy eyes he’d ever seen.

Mamoru groaned and laughed, kissing her again lightly.  “Don’t give me the eyes, please!  I can’t handle it!” Usagi’s eyes regained their sparkle as a smile crept back on her face.  “Like I said,” he murmured, close to her lips, “finding you here this morning was not,” here he punctuated with another kiss, “a bad thing.” She giggled under her breath and curled her arms around his neck, tugging him back into her lips, with him propped on his elbows above her.

While Mamoru had settled in to prepare to have his willpower tested several times that morning, fate apparently had something else in mind.  Usagi’s cell phone shrilled from the living room, startling the pair apart.  Usagi looked up with wide eyes; Mamoru chuckled and nudged her out of the bed to go answer it.  Her voice drifted into the bedroom as he quickly pulled real clothing on; it was bad enough having her dressed in his clothes, he needed the armor of wearing real clothes and not just underwear.  Walking out to the living room, he admired the view; _I don’t know what it is about a girl wearing a guy’s clothes,_ he mused as she chattered, _but whatever it is, I definitely like it._  It wasn’t as if the clothing was revealing at all; the baggy t-shirt was one of his oldest and softest, along with the boxers, which was why he had given them to her as impromptu pajamas in the first place.   _Maybe it’s just that they’re my clothes._  It felt like the right answer.

Usagi hung up and smiled at him. "Mako checking in," she explained. "I promised we'd meet up for lunch at the Fruits Crown."

"Sounds good," Mamoru said easily. "Can I make some breakfast in the meantime?"

"When have I ever turned down food?" Usagi asked with a giggle.

Once pancakes were made and consumed (Mamoru still boggled at the sheer amount of food this tiny, slim girl could put away), Mamoru put the dishes in the sink and approached Usagi, who was standing on the balcony, enjoying the view though she shivered in the chilly breeze. He wrapped his arms around her waist, enjoying the way she immediately snuggled back into him. _That's a good sign,_ he thought hopefully.

"So," he started a bit uncertainly, "would you like to... Um... Go on an actual date sometime?"

Usagi was quiet for a moment.  “Mamoru, before I answer that, can I ask you a question?”  She looked up over her shoulder at him.  “Why is a college guy interested in a middle-school girl?  Not that I’m not giving myself credit for being cute, of course,” she said while winking saucily, “but… you’re a smart, good looking guy.  Why are you not dating a college girl?  Or at least high school?”

“Well,” Mamoru started slowly, “for one, I’m not quite as old as you think I am.  I skipped 3rd grade, so I’m still 17.  For another… You’ve probably noticed that I’m not as cheerful as you are.  I don’t make friends as easily as you do.  Well,” he laughed, “No one makes friends as easily as you do, but you know what I mean.

“My life hasn’t been the happiest, but you… you have this brightness about you, this overwhelming sense of… of joy, of hope, the certainty that around the next corner the most amazing thing in the world is just waiting.  And whenever I’m with you, everything around me is brighter, too.”  He smiled, looking down into her enormous eyes.  “I’m like a moth to a flame with you,” he said softly.  “Even when I was being an ass, it was because I saw something so bright and lovely that I just… had to reach out and touch, even when I got burned.”

Usagi took a breath and held it for a moment, then let it out shakily as her eyes grew bright.  “Wow,” she said softly.  “That’s a pretty compelling argument, especially when I was already going to say yes anyway…”

If she had been planning to say anything after that, it was lost in the glow of Mamoru’s smile, and the balcony was silent for long moments before the happy pair went back inside.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Usagi yawned and snuggled into Mamoru’s arm, draped around her shoulder.  “Tired?” Minako asked with a suggestive grin and furious eyebrow-waggle from across the table.  For once, the whole gang had managed to find some free time when there wasn’t an attack to go out for dinner at the Fruits Crown Parlor, so the four Senshi, Mamoru, and Usagi were gathered in the one big corner booth.  Usagi just wrinkled her nose at Minako’s usual insinuations.

“Nothing exciting, Minako-chan, I swear.  I have been sleeping virtuously alone,” she answered, punctuated with another yawn.

“Then why so tired?” Makoto asked curiously.

Usagi hesitated a moment.  “Nightmares,” she answered quietly.  She caught Mamoru’s concerned glance and smiled up at him.  “It’s fine, I’m sure it’ll pass,” she said with a slight flush.

“Still, though?” Mamoru asked with a little squeeze to her shoulders.  “I thought they had stopped.”

“Not after the first night I went home,” Usagi sighed sadly.  “Apparently you’re my nightmare-repellent,” she said with a wink.  “Maybe I should get my doctor to prescribe sleepovers!”

The girls all giggled.  “You know,” Mako said slowly, “We could probably run interference with your mom if you wanted to stay over.”

Ami nodded, prompting looks of shock from Minako and Rei.  “Your mother would probably even allow it tonight if she thought you were studying with me,” she added with a smile.  “After all, I’m sure Mamoru would help you with homework and make sure you got to school on time.  And you’re certainly not learning as much as you could without sufficient sleep.”  She looked down demurely and sipped her soda as the rest of the girls goggled at her bemusedly.  Mamoru just chuckled silently.

***

As Usagi, Ami, and Mamoru walked to Usagi’s house from the Crown, Mamoru squeezed Usagi's hand in his. "So are these the same nightmares?" he asked quietly.

She sighed pensively. "I think so," she replied, "I mean, I usually forget most of it when I wake up, but the parts I do remember..." She shuddered in reaction. He squeezed her hand again comfortingly. “I think the weirdest part is how real it all feels,” she mused distractedly.  “One of the parts I remembered from last night was just a flash- a hand, moving towards a gold locket that’s sitting in my hands.  I’m on my knees, and I can feel little bits of grit or sand or something on the floor digging into my legs; I’m holding the locket out in both hands and I’m so tired my arms are shaking…” her voice trailed off and her eyes went blank as Mamoru and Ami looked worriedly at each other.  

“It must be some weird combination of old memories,” Ami said hastily as Usagi shook herself aware again.  “Sometime your mind can put together pieces from different experiences, and you might not even realize they’re not from the same memory.” Usagi pondered that for a moment as Mamoru shot Ami a quick raised-eyebrow look over Usagi’s bowed head.  Ami answered with a nearly-imperceptible shrug.

"Maybe," Usagi sighed, then snuggled close to Mamoru's arm.  The remainder of the walk was mostly silent until Mamoru turned off to go to his apartment; the couple parted with a quick kiss and a murmured farewell.

Arriving home, Mamoru quickly tidied up his apartment, then started looking through his tea blends with a small smile hovering on his lips.   _Usako really liked the green tea with peach, what about the ginger-peach one?  Maybe…_

His ruminations were rudely interrupted by his communicator going off.  When Luna had (begrudgingly) accepted the fact that he was helping the Senshi whether she liked it or not, she worked with Mercury and Artemis to get another one made for him- it looked like a slightly bulky black watch, but the face flipped up to show the caller’s face on a small screen.  This time, a slightly irritated-looking Rei looked back at him.  

“Rei-chan?” he asked, tensing up.

“Minako-chan’s high school,” she said tersely.  “She seems to be holding her own so far.”

Mamoru gritted his teeth.  “Usako’s going to be here any minute,” he said, shaking his head slightly.  “If I’m just gone when she gets here there’s no way she’ll let that go and you know it.”

Rei squeezed her eyes shut and sighed.  “You’re right,” she grumbled.  “She’d be all over you in a minute.  She’d probably try to track you down and fall into trouble on the way, knowing her.”  

“Can you handle it without me?” he asked.  “I can come by for healing when you’re finished- call my cell phone, I’ll tell her a friend needs a ride home or something.”

“Perfect,” Rei said, brightening slightly.  “We’ll kill the stupid thing and then you can patch us up.”

Mamoru grinned, then looked up and quickly closed the communicator as his front door opened, reaching instead for the tea in the cabinet above his sink.  

“Mamo-chan!” Usagi sang out, skipping into the apartment.  All sign of her tiredness from earlier vanished in her exuberance and excitement at being able to stay with him.  An answering smile spread across Mamoru’s face unthinkingly, and he moved out of the kitchen as she came towards him, catching her around the waist as he kissed her lightly.  She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, coyly asking, “That’s it?”

***

Usagi lay sprawled on the floor in front of his couch as he sat reading a textbook.  He had managed to persuade her that math, while annoying, was still something she needed to pass - and actually learn - in order to get by in the world.  He was smiling down at her as she nibbled her eraser, deep in thought, when his cell phone went off.  His stomach tightened as he pulled it out to answer.  “Hello?” he said casually.   _Act normal, dammit.  Don’t give it away._

“Mamoru-san, come quick, Rei-chan- She-” Mamoru identified Minako’s voice with difficulty as she choked down what was clearly a sob of fear.  He waited with his heart in his throat as she composed herself.  “She got hit with something, she’s bleeding, and- and-” She broke off again before finishing.

“Where are you?” he asked, trying to keep the tension from his voice.

“My school,” she answered with a tense sigh.  “We’re on the first floor, come in through the gym.  I’ll have Ami-chan wait for you.”

“I’ll be there in 10,” he promised before hanging up.

“What’s going on?” Usagi asked, sitting up and turning to face him.

“One of my college friends got stuck at school- her car died and there’s no one around,” he lied smoothly.  “She’s kind of freaked out and can’t afford to have the car towed tonight, so she asked if I could take her home.”

“Poor thing,” Usagi said sympathetically.  “Want some company on the ride?”

“My car only seats two,” he reminded her with a smile.  “If you went, where would she sit?”

“Oh, yeah,” she grumbled.  “I guess I’ll just stay here then.  Don’t stay out too long!”

He kept his smile easy as he kissed her goodbye and headed out the door.

***

Mamoru leaned heavily on his doorknob for a moment, letting it take his weight as he fumbled for the keys in his coat pocket.  Exhaustion dragged at him for a moment before he squared his shoulders and opened the door.  “Usako?” he called quietly, closing the door behind him.  “You awake?”

His blonde bundle of energy popped her head around the corner.  “Mamo-chan!” she declaimed brightly.  “How was your friend?  You were certainly gone a while!”  His exhausted brain stopped listening after a few moments, and he stood blinking at her before registering that she’d stopped talking.  

“Mamo-chan?” she asked uncertainly.  “Are you ok?”

“Fine!” he answered quickly.  “Fine, just tired.  Long day.  Did you finish your math?” he asked, hoping to distract her.  “If you’re done I thought we could eat.  I’m starving.”

“You were fine before you left,” Usagi said with concern; apparently his distraction game needed some work.  “Did something happen?  If you’re sick, you should see a doctor-”

“I’m fine, Usako,” he said, masking his sudden fear with impatience.  “It was just a long day and my friend was upset. Nothing to worry about.”

She stared at him, uncharacteristically still for a moment, before her expression hardened.  “You know what?” she asked angrily.  “No.  This is the third time this week you’ve disappeared and come back exhausted.  Are you going to tell me what’s been going on or what?”  

“Usako-”

“Don’t _Usako_ me, Mamoru! You’re-” her voice faltered, and she continued more quietly.  “You’re pale, you have huge shadows under your eyes that weren’t there earlier, and you spaced out on me just now.   _You_.  You never space out.  Mamoru, what is going on?”

Mamoru stood, frozen in shock, as she stared at him.  The silence stretched to a minute before she broke it, quickly gathering her things, then pushing past him to the door.  “Fine,” she said, her voice wobbling before she steadied it.  “If you want to talk to me later, I’ll be at Ami’s.”

“Usako, please-” he started before she opened the door.  His attempted explanation died in his throat as she turned to stare at him with eyes that still haunted his dreams.  He remained frozen as she turned gracefully and walked away, closing the door behind her.

***

Usagi walked slowly through Ichi no Hashi park, hands in her pockets, lost in thought.   _What could be wrong?_ She nibbled her lip, tasting salt from where one tear had escaped before she fought them back.   _Could he be… Could there be… someone else?_  Her heart ached at the thought, but it still didn’t feel right.   _Whatever is going on, I don’t think he enjoys it._

As she pondered, a flicker of pale green and pink caught her attention.  As she looked up, her mind refused to accept what she was seeing for a moment.   _Green skin?  How- what-_ Aside from the skin- and the pink hair- she almost looked… familiar.   _Is she floating?  How in-_

Before she could react other than to stare blankly, a bizarre-looking creature appeared right in front of her- it looked like some kind of priestess, sitting cross-legged- well, floating, not sitting- but with four arms. As Usagi froze in shock, the weird floating thing's head started- spinning? _It has four faces! How the-_

The strange woman gestured to the monster, a hungry smile crossing her face. The thing, moving almost too fast to see, lashed out with one hand and grabbed her wrist.  A painful electric thrill ran through her body and her muscles locked up- she couldn’t help but stare up at the woman as a look of unholy glee crossed her strange, green face.  Gray sparkles started to invade the corners of her vision as she stood frozen, and she felt a horrible numbing weakness dragging at her limbs.  Just before the gray took over, black and red fluttered somewhere off to the side- the green-skinned stranger snapped to attention, and the four-faced minster released her wrist, leaping into the sky before both flickered out of sight and fire lashed across the place they had been.

Usagi dropped to her knees, and the sound of running footsteps filled her ears before the gray turned to black and she knew no more.

***

_Elsewhere_

Space stretched out impossibly far around the tree, glowing faintly in the blackness. Two figures stood on a branch near the massive trunk, staring down at a tiny sprout that had appeared at the juncture point. The smaller figure stared avidly down at the seedling, then smiled brightly up at the larger figure. A look of consternation crossed his face, followed by grim resolve. He nodded solemnly at the other, and the two floated away to begin planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back! Sorry this took so ridicuously long- I had been writing at work, and boy oh boy is it not slow anymore. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! If you have feedback, please say something! Hopefully the next chapter will not take anywhere near this long!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh. Hi? I'm back! Sorry for the TRULY ABSURD delay in getting this updated, but since I got the last chapter up I've moved 3 times and gotten 2 new jobs. And 2 dogs. And... you get the idea. Anyway, sorry again for my crazy life and I promise to at least TRY to get this finished this year!

_Crystal blue eyes, overflowing with tears_

_Pain dragging him down_

_darkness_

_LIGHT_

Mamoru leaned his flushed face against the cool glass of his bedroom window, staring out at the lights below him as his racing heart settled.  _I don’t know if I can take these nightmares anymore,_ he thought in despair.  It seemed like the less time he spent with Usagi, the more nightmares they both had - Ami had confirmed that although the still-angry former Senshi had mostly recovered from the most recent Cardian attack, she was getting progressively more tired as the days went by.  _Maybe we’re having the dreams at the same time,_ he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow.  _Some kind of… connection or something._ He frowned, thinking about it, feeling even more guilty than he already had.  “I wish I could just tell her,” he mumbled to himself, rubbing his hands across his face tiredly.  He looked out at the city again, and resolved once again not to.  The less she knew, the safer she was.

***

Mamoru peeked around the corner of a doorway cautiously, looking for garnet eyes with a predatory expression.  _Coast is clear… looks like she gave up._   He edged out of the alcove leading to the men's room at the arcade, checking once more before claiming his usual spot at the bar and waving to Motoki.  _That girl gives me the creeps,_ he thought uneasily.  _I think she’d eat me alive if she actually caught me._   Natsumi had been after him for a solid thirty minutes, making suggestive comments, brushing up against him, and even literally chasing after him when he made a run for it.  He shook his head in befuddled disbelief at the girl’s tenacity. 

Mamoru jumped as a small hand slapped down on the counter next to him.  He stared at Minako blankly as she glared at him, clearly fuming about something.  He cleared his throat as she drummed her fingers on the countertop, waiting for the explosion. 

“Mamoru-san, what the _hell_ do you think you’re doing with Usagi-chan?” she growled quietly.  “She’s miserable!”

“What am I supposed to do?” he snapped back, stung.  “She’s angry because I won’t tell her about-” He bit back the words for a moment, then continued.  “She’s angry, and I can’t explain - and that just makes her angrier.” He rubbed his temple as Minako stared at him, the irritation fading from her eyes.  She looked at him sadly before giving him a quick hug, then vanishing as quickly as she had appeared. 

A cup of coffee appeared in front of him as he sat with his head bowed.  He looked up to see Motoki smiling sympathetically at him.  “Minako-chan in protect-Usagi-chan mode?” the blonde asked as he pushed the sugar bowl at his hapless friend.  Mamoru nodded glumly and stirred sugar into his cup. 

“The worst part of it is,” he sighed, “I know if I just told her, she’d be fine.  Except she wouldn’t be fine, because she’d be fighting again, and I just…” He trailed off and swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.  “I couldn’t bear to see her get hurt again.”

Both men fell silent as Usagi walked by with Seijuro in close attendance, ostentatiously avoiding eye contact with either of them.  Motoki looked at Mamoru steadily for a moment, before asking quietly, “Would it be any better if she got hurt… and you weren’t there?”

***

Mamoru stumbled sideways as - yet again - a blonde-haired bullet plowed into him.  He managed to keep them both upright somehow, one arm automatically locking around Usagi’s slim waist until they both steadied.  “Good afternoon to you too,” he teased as he reluctantly pulled away from her.  She smiled up at him, eyes sparkling, before her expression clouded and she apparently remembered she was still angry at him.  She looked away, busying herself with checking that the package she carried was still intact while the flush on her cheeks cooled. 

“Sorry about that,” Usagi said cooly.  “I’ll just be on my way.”

“Where are you going?” Mamoru asked quickly.  “I’ll walk with you-”

He was cut off by Usagi briskly turning and walking away, nose in the air.  “Come on, Usako-”

She whirled and stabbed a pointy little finger at his chest.  “You don’t get to call me that anymore, Mamoru-san” she hissed, eyes sparkling with angry tears that she kept blinking back.  “If you can’t be truthful with me then you don’t get to know anything about my life.  Now if you’ll _excuse_ me,” she said, backing up slightly, “I’m bringing cookies to Seijuro-kun and Natsumi-san.  They haven’t been to school for a few days so I thought I’d cheer them up.”

Mamoru gritted his teeth at Seijuro’s name, then unclenched his jaw with an effort.  “Well then,” he snapped, “I will come with you after all.  I’m sure Natsumi-san would like to see me.”  He noticed ashamedly that Usagi paled slightly at this, then stuck her nose in the air again and walked on.

“Fine,” she said tightly.  “Do what you want.  Just leave me out of it.”

The elevator ride up to the apartment was awkward and silent, except for the monotonous _tap-tap-tap_ of Usagi’s nervous toes.  Mamoru’s stomach twisted, and he wondered what he had gotten himself into this time.  _Natsumi-san… That girl makes me so edgy_ , he thought uncomfortably.  _If she’s persistent enough to literally chase after me, what else is she capable of?_

A knock on the door produced a blank-faced Seijuro, who quickly smiled when he noticed Usagi.  “Usagi-chan! Welcome!” he said cheerfully. Natsumi’s face appeared beside him, smiling as she shoved him out of the way.  “Mamoru-sama!” she gushed happily.  “Please, come in!” Her saccharine grin moved to Usagi.  “Usagi-san, how wonderful to see you!”

Usagi seemed slightly disconcerted by Natsumi suddenly being friendly, after weeks of irrational jealousy, but walked through the door anyway.  Mamoru followed on her heels, determined to stay with her. 

Seijuro busied himself in the kitchen for a few moments while Natsumi sat them on the couch, glibly chatting away with Usagi as if they’d been friends from the moment they met.  Usagi happily accepted a cup of tea and continued chattering as Seijuro rejoined them.  Mamoru interjected a word or two at a time, distracted by an odd feeling in the air.

 _What in the world is that?_ he asked himself, smiling woodenly at Natsumi.  _It feels like there’s someone else here… not exactly a person, but something…_ A spot between his shoulderblades went cold, as if something was hunting him.  He suddenly realized Natsumi and Seijuuro were staring at him expectantly, apparently waiting for an answer.

“Sorry, what was that?” he asked awkwardly.

Usagi rolled her eyes.  “Natsumi-san said the view from the balcony is spectacular, and that Seijuuro-san could show you.”  She sniffed derisively at his inattention. 

Mamoru froze for a moment, trying to think of a reason to refuse but unable to come up with something that didn’t sound ridiculous. He shrugged stiffly as he stood and followed the younger man out the sliding doors.  The fresh air outside revived him as he took in a deep breath and looked out over the city.  _Nice enough view, I suppose,_ he thought absently, automatically scanning all around him for anything dangerous.  The cold spot on his back remained, but the sense of immediate menace lessened slightly when the Seijuuro closed the door behind him. 

“Nice, eh?” Seijuuro asked, gesturing at the city sprawled in front of them.  He smiled smugly as he looked back at Mamoru, clearly waiting for him to confess his awe at the view.  Mamoru smiled woodenly, senses still mostly focused behind him.  _Of course they decide to get me away from her now of all times,_ he thought irritatedly, before freezing and then homing back in on that thought.  _Wait, could they have a reason for that?  Could Usagi-_

Suddenly, all his nerve endings shrilled a warning as dark energy flooded through the room behind him.  His eyes widened in horror as he turned and bolted for the door, nearly pulling it out of its track in his haste.  “Usako!” he called as he ran back inside, not caring if he looked insane for freaking out with no obvious external reason.  Neither girl was in immediate view, and he instinctively turned toward the source of the dark energy.  An open doorway stood in front of him, a strange light emanating from its dark recesses… along with the clearly-terrified shrieks of Usagi.

As he dashed toward the open door, he flipped his communicator open and triggered the emergency alarm- Ami had set it up so that if any of them tripped it, everyone else would get an immediate alert, complete with location.  _Hope they can get here soon,_ he thought grimly as he barrelled through the doorway -

Into an alien world.

He stumbled to a halt, looking up at the impossibly-huge tree that was flinging giant vine-tentacle-things around at high speed.  One was wrapped around what looked like a Cardian, the strangle multi-faced, multi-armed monster flailing ineffectually.  Another was wrapped around Usagi, who was screaming in utter terror.  Natsumi stood beneath, a mix of startlement and satisfaction on her face, turning to fear as he ran in.

As he watched, the air around Natsumi shimmered, and she changed into the same green-skinned, pink-haired alien that had attacked Usagi previously, and had been seen near the sites of several attacks.  The alien leaped into the air and started yelling at the tree - _the tree? -_ but he couldn’t focus on anything but Usagi’s terrified cries.  She shrieked and reached for him as he darted towards her, but before he could take more than a few steps, something hit him from behind and wrapped around him, yanking him off his feet. 

His ribs screamed in pain as the tentacle-vine clenched around him, hauling him into the air with terrifying speed.  The pink-haired alien he now knew was Natsumi blinked in next to him and started pulling on the vine. 

“Let him go!” she screamed at the looming tree behind him.  “He’s mine, and I’m commanding you to _let him go_ so you listen to me and do it!”

“No, drain him,” the other alien shouted while tugging on the vine holding Usagi, who had apparently stopped screaming to focus on trying to wriggle free.  “Let Usagi-chan go and drain _him!”_

Agony arced through Mamoru and Usagi as their energies were violently ripped from them.  Mamoru slumped forward, greying out as he heard Usagi whimper nearby.  He forced his eyes open, looked up, and met her eyes, bruised-looking and overflowing with tears.  He reached for her, unable to do anything else, and somehow feeling that if he could just get to her, just _reach hard enough-_

She reached back to him, letting out a brief sob before wrestling it back.  The two strained toward each other, the two vines jostling them closer, then farther away.  Finally, just their fingertips managed to touch, and Usagi smiled just a little, for just a moment. 

Before they had time to do more than catch half a breath, black boots kicked their hands apart and the male alien glared coldly at him before snarling, “Keep your hands off her, human.  She’s mine.”

“She doesn’t belong to you!”

The shout came from what had been the entrance to the room.  Mamoru bared his teeth in something that was distinctly not quite a smile as he saw all four Senshi standing with fists clenched or aggressively flattened, ready to dive into the fight.  Mako, who had yelled as soon as she made it past the tangled vines, bolted forward again, slinging thunder and lightning at the two floating aliens.  The two went blank-faced and froze, eerie light flaring from both sets of eyes as the white-hot lightning crackled harmlessly off an oddly dark shield in front of them.  They grinned manically as they sent invisible blasts of power at the girls, cackling madly as Jupiter was knocked backward into her fellow fighters.

The vines around Usagi and Mamoru suddenly seized, ripping screams from both their throats as their energies were torn from them again.  The vines then loosened, sending both limp bodies hurtling towards the floor.  Mamoru wondered distantly if they were high enough up that they risked broken bones, falling like this, but before they could fall more than a few feet he saw the female alien blink into being in front of his barely-slitted-open eyes and catch him.  As they floated down to the floor, he heard the male trying to coax Usagi back to consciousness.  _Seijuuro Ginga,_ he noted almost absently, _I should have figured._   The girl holding him yelled at the other, but only a name – Eiru – caught Mamoru’s increasingly foggy attention.  He only managed to catch the returning name of An before the gray haze blocked his hearing and he slipped into black nothingness.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this might be a record for me. Only 6 weeks since the last chapter! Woo! See, I'm not that mean after all, leaving you on a cliffhanger. 
> 
> Or AM I?
> 
> Enjoy!

Distant blasts and screams echoed through Mamoru’s mind, tugging vainly at his attention but unable to bring him to consciousness.  Suddenly, he felt a warmth on his cheek, a small influx of energy, and a painfully, sweetly familiar voice calling his name. He managed to lever his eyelids up to see Usagi’s distressed face above his, breaking out into a smile still full of fear. 

“Mamo-chan!” she breathed thankfully, leaning down to give him a quick, tender kiss.  “Thank goodness you’re all right- we need to get out of here!”

Mamoru pushed himself up on one elbow and looked behind Usagi to see the Senshi, fighting furiously to protect their friends.  No matter the fervor, however, the girls were losing… badly.  It only took a moment for him to absorb the realities and tactics of the fight before he staggered to his feet and gently pushed Usagi’s tugging hands off his arm.  He pulled her to him for a quick, hard kiss before stepping back regretfully.

“Sorry, Usako,” he said, just loudly enough to be heard.  “There’s something I have to do.”

As he turned to transform, he saw her expression change from fear to shock, and then to wonder as rainbows rippled across him, leaving the tuxedo behind.  “Get out of here!” he called behind him as he darted towards the fray.

Sailor Mars flashed him an uncharacteristically savage grin as a tentacle was deflected away from her by a rose.  “Took you long enough,” she called, leaping lightly over an energy blast. 

Tuxedo Mask slashed his cane at another vine and caught Sailor Jupiter’s eye.  She rushed toward him and leaped, propelled even faster by his heave upward on the foot that landed in his cupped palms.  Flying even higher than she normally could, lightning flashed towards the angry-looking aliens from an unexpected angle –

Only to crash into that strange barrier again, no impact on either green-skinned creature.  The floating pair spun in unison to fling their hands out at their combatants, and an all-but invisible shock wave ripped through the air and slammed into the desperate Earthlings.  Mamoru’s vision grayed out for a moment as power blasted through his system and knocked him off his feet, tumbling across the ground until he fetched up against one of the ten-foot-thick roots of the Tree.  Repeated blasts turned the world white over and over, and he could see the girls convulsing and he wanted to get up he wanted to _move_ but he couldn’t he tried and tried and _tried –_

All of a sudden, the painful shocks stopped, although the angry crackles and light-flares that accompanied them continued.  Mamoru hauled himself up on his elbows and pried his eyes open, turning his head to see – _Usagi?_

Usagi, with her slim legs wide-set for stability, her arms crossed in front of her, taking blow after blow from the aliens, who stopped momentarily to scream at each other and at the Tree.  Under cover of their argument, Mamoru dragged himself a few feet towards Usagi, who sagged but remained upright, gasping for breath as she fought to recover. 

“Usako,” he croaked, “What are you doing?  I told you to get out-“

The words froze in his mouth at the reproachful, teary glare she threw at him.  “Mamo-chan, if you think I would leave you in the middle of this, you don’t know me at all,” she said both angrily and sadly.

Mamoru froze, mouth open, guilt so heavy he could taste it, metallic and harsh in the air.  The two looked at each other for just a moment, a strangely sheltered calm surrounding them, Ail and En providing a shrill counterpoint in the distance.

The calm only lasted a moment before the Tree apparently took issue with the events around it, tentacles once more lashing out.  The female alien’s eyes widened a split-second before she shoved her compatriot out of the way of a huge vine that speared towards them, just as another slammed into Usagi, flinging her off her feet and face-first towards the wall-like root that Mamoru was braced against.

Somehow, although he saw it all happening in crystal-clear slow-motion, Mamoru could not get his rebellious limbs to react in time to cushion Usagi’s impact.  He lurched over to her just in time to catch her as she collapsed off the root… and off the needle-sharp, foot-long thorn that had embedded itself in her stomach.

Mamoru fell to his knees, Usagi supported by one arm, and tried desperately to stanch the flow of blood from her abdomen as her head lolled against his chest.  He took one shaky breath to center himself, then launched headfirst into the deepest healing trance he’d ever attempted.

***

Under normal circumstances, healing involved Mamoru channeling energy from himself to the other person, but also calling up answering energy in them.  After fighting for so long, he looked at his own stores of energy and knew immediately that they were not up to the task.  Undeterred, he turned his mental eye to Usagi… and was dazzled by the energy he could see, somehow contained in her tiny form.  He instinctively reached out to her mentally, but was rebuffed by some kind of barrier.  He turned his focus to that instead, prying at cracks, sending “heat” and “cold” at it, though it was all visualization anyway, just him sending energy in different forms to try and get past the stubborn wall around Usagi’s mind.  Although, he thought absently, it wasn’t really around her mind – her “self”?  Her soul? 

Whatever the barrier was protecting, the glow was centered behind her breastbone, it held all the energy Usagi needed to heal, and he was bound and determined to get to it.

His mind was nearly numb, drained to what he knew intellectually was a dangerous state, when something finally got through one tiny crack, and suddenly his world exploded.  He frantically grabbed at the energy that zapped past his mind, channeling it back into Usagi’s body.  Finally, _finally_ , something worked right, and he felt her stomach close under fingers that crackled with gold and silver.  He felt her spasm and arch against him, pushed himself more, making sure there was no damage under the skin, until he ran right out of energy and fell out of trance with an almost physical _thud_.

His ears roaring, Mamoru forced his eyelids up, though his eyes wouldn’t entirely focus, to see Usagi’s eyes flicker open as well.  Before he could even take a full breath in, unconsciousness crashed down on him, the roar in his ears taking over and forcing his mind into black blankness.

***

Usagi floated in warm, uncomplicated light.  Nothing to bother her here, no pain –

Well, her stomach hurt, that was true.  But that was fading by the moment.  And no guilt, no fear… no stubborn Mamo-chan making her feel things – wonderful things, really – and then pulling away like a stranger.  How dare he do that? She felt herself almost getting angry again, but the light… it just pulled at her, pulled everything away.

Sinking further, she felt a tug on her… well, she wasn’t sure what exactly.  Something was tugging insistently at her though, something other than the lovely warm light that just wanted her to rest.  She ignored it, relaxing further and further into the warm, numbing embrace, until she wasn’t even really _her_ anymore, not _Usagi_ , not the strange person she dreamed about sometimes, wasn’t anyone, just a tiny kernel in the enfolding light that was starting to feel more like darkness.

Suddenly, her world exploded.  Feelings and faces and memories flooded into her, electricity arcing through her veins, and now her stomach _burned_ , like someone was pouring lava into it.  She tried to cry out in protest, but her body wasn’t listening, so she fought her way back into it, fought past the old, old memories (was that Rei, in some kind of strange gown?  And Mina – _what_ in the world was she wearing, she was practically _naked!_ She _had_ to hold on to these memories, for blackmail if nothing else!) past the newer, more painful memories (Mako, screaming in agonized rage as she electrocuted the youma at D-point; Ami, lying so horribly still at the bottom of an icy crater), fought all the way back into herself, where the newest memories finally made themselves known again with all the old context intact. 

Mamoru, looking at her like he’d seen a ghost as she walked into the arcade one afternoon.  Mina, blithely bouncing her way back into her life like a human volleyball.  Mamoru, trying to be friends with her but looking at her with smothered longing and fear at the same time.   Makoto and Ami, getting to know her like normal one day, the next having to hold themselves back from saying things so many times… Rei, just appearing out of nowhere the day after the attack near the shrine, badgering her into taking care of herself until she snapped, starting a fight that seemed unbelievably familiar even then.

Mamoru, disappearing day after day, exhaustion etching deep lines and shadows on his face, a painful longing hiding deep in his eyes even after they started dating, and coming fully to the surface when she pushed him away in anger.

Everything flooded through her in an instant, along with awareness of her body, arching in pain as energy coursed along her nerves like electric fire.

It finally stopped when she felt a hand lift off of her belly.  As she fought to open her eyes, she heard a familiar pained, masculine groan that made her eyes flicker open automatically, just to confirm –

She met Mamoru’s pain-filled, exhaustion-shadowed blue eyes for just a moment before they rolled back into his head and he slumped forward over her.

Usagi struggled to sit up and also keep Mamoru from hitting his head as she laid him back down – he was clearly out of the fight for the foreseeable future.  She caught a black blur of movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned toward it without any surprise to see Luna, setting down her broach with tears in her garnet eyes. 

“I’m sorry, Usagi-chan,” the black cat said sadly.  “I know you wanted a normal life, but –“

Usagi interrupted her with a smile and a self-deprecating shake of her head.  “Luna, I was deluding myself,” she said quietly as she picked up the broach, the cold metal warming quickly in her hands.  “Besides,” she said as she stood up, “I missed our conversations.” Luna rubbed at her eyes as Usagi raised the brooch above her head and called out, with a feeling of déjà vu, “MOON PRISM POWER!”


End file.
